I11 Couple's Collection
by Icee Suicune
Summary: A collection of oneshots about our favorite soccer team's members and managers. 11 - Gouenji x Fuyuka
1. Endou x Aki

"Okay. I'm not going to lie, but this party sucks." Natsumi said. She looked around the room and at all of the other party goers. The speakers that had been playing music had all of a sudden malfunctioned, and without music to dance to there wasn't much else to do except for eat snacks, and Natsumi was _not _ going to eat those terrible foods. "Why did I even come here anyway?" She mumbled to herself.

Gouenji and Kidou were sitting on the couch, looking bored out of their minds. Max and Handa were stacking empty soda cans on top of each other, while Kabeyama and Kurimatsu were over at the snack table. Shourin and Kazemaru watched as Shishido hit the speakers repeatedly, as if that would help things out. Megane (who did not look happy about Shishido's repair methods at all) quickly ran over there, and he began to tinker around with them. Domon and Ichinose were making their way – very, very slowly – to the window in a desperate attempt to escape. Kageno was just sitting in a corner. Haruna was sitting in a chair, flipping through a photo album she had found, and started to giggle at something. Aki was smiling at Endou – the host of this failure of a party – and was telling him "No, this isn't the worst party I've ever been too..." in an attempt to make him feel better. But Endou knew that no one was enjoying it, and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, guys." Endou said. "I guess this celebration party isn't really..."

"It's not your fault, I suppose." Gouenji said. "I mean, I'm sure you didn't plan for it to...end up like this."

Endou sighed. He looked over at his window to see Ichinose sitting on Domon's shoulders, trying to unlatch the window. The two laughed nervously when Endou saw them, and Ichinose jumped off his shoulders.

"Hehe, sorry Endou." Ichinose rubbed the back of his head. Domon kicked the ground and chuckled.

Endou waved his hand at them. "You guys can leave if you want. I understand." He looked around at everyone, and he shrugged. "I guess you can too. I'll see you at practice tomorrow."

Everyone sat there for a bit – they weren't sure if they really should leave. It seemed great to be able to, but no one really wanted to hurt Endou's feelings by walking out. But after a minuted Ichinose and Domon started for the door.

"Sorry, Endou.. but uh..." Domon said. He waved goodbye, but right before they reached the door Natsumi spoke up.

"Hold it right there." she said. Domon and Ichinose stopped in mid-step, while everyone else looked over at her. "I know how we can liven up this party."

"How?" Endou asked. Natsumi waved everyone over to her, and as the neared her she instructed them to sit down in a circle.

"If this is what I think it is..." Kidou said. He glanced over at Haruna, who was sitting between Kazemaru and Megane.

"I'm not sure what you're thinking of, Kidou," Natsumi smiled at Kidou, who frowned. "But I thought we all should play a little game."

"Oh, games are great!" Aki said. Many nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've played something other than soccer." Max laughed. Natsumi smiled and walked over to the snack table.

"Does this game involve snacks?" Kabeyama asked.

Natsumi shook her head. "Sorry, no snacks." she turned around and faced the group, a bottle in her hand. She shook it. "Just this."

"That's it. C'mon, Haruna, we're leaving." Kidou stood up and grabbed Haruna's arm, and despite his sister's protests he lead her out of the room.

"Onii-chan, what are you doing? I don't want to leave!" Haruna struggled to get away, but Kidou pushed her out the door.

"Thanks for inviting us, Endou!" he called. With that, Kidou slammed the door behind him, and they were gone.

"Well. That was nice." Natsumi said. Most everyone else was still looking at the door, but Natsumi sat herself between Endou and Gouenji and set the bottle in the middle of the circle. "Now, I'm sure most of you have heard about spin the bottle."

"Yeah, it's that kissing game, right?" Kazemaru said.

Natsumi nodded. "Indeed it is."

"So uh... that's what we're playing?" Shishido asked. Natsumi smiled.

"But there's like... five times as many guys than girls," Shourin said. Him and Shishido looked at each other, and they both stood up. "Um... I don't like those odds." the two left the house, thanking Endou for the invitation.

"We're loosing people, Natsumi." Endou said. Natsumi shrugged.

"Let them. I mean, it's good we're getting rid of all the chickens. It just makes the actual game that much more exciting." Natsumi reached out for the bottle. "Now, shall we begin?"

"I guess." Kazemaru said. Max and Handa nodded too, and Gouenji just shook his head.

"Whatever."

"Good." Natsumi cleared her throat. "I'll do the honors of the first spin." She grabbed the bottle and gave it a spin.

Everyone – well, aside from Aki – looked at the bottle, and everyone wondered who it would land on. It spun for five seconds... ten... fifteen... Soon it started to slow down, and then it stopped.

On Megane.

Natsumi's face turned red, and Megane's was probably more red than hers.

"Uh... that was just a practice spin," Natsumi said. She laughed and reached for the bottle again, but Gouenji grabbed her arm and smiled.

"Come on, Natsumi. Don't be a chicken."

After frowning at Gouenji, Natsumi took a deep breath and faced Megane. And in one fluid motion, Natsumi grabbed Megane's face with her hands and pecked him on the lips. Just as soon as it had begun, it ended, and Natsumi started to wipe her lips on the back of her hand.

"Well, that's over with. Someone else spin." Natsumi said. She sat back from the crowd, and so did Megane. The poor kid was speechless, and he pulled an inhaler out of his pocket.

"Uh... I have to go." He stood up and ran out the door.

"Well that was... interesting. Who's next?" Ichinose asked. He looked around at everyone, but most people seemed a bit scared to continue, considering what just happened. Max shrugged.

"I guess I'll go." He took the bottle and spun it. Everyone was a bit more nervous this time, considering a guy was spinning. Deep down inside, everyone hoped it would end up on Aki.

Everyone, that is, except for Endou.

Lately, he'd noticed something change in himself. Every time he looked over at the managers during practice, his stomach felt funny and he swore that his heart would beat faster. The highlight of his day was waking up and going outside to meet Aki in front of his house, waiting to walk him to school. And when Ichinose first came to Raimon and hugged Aki like that... Endou knew they were childhood friends, but seeing that made him... upset. It had taken him a while, but after thinking it over, he realized that he really liked – no, he loved Aki.

It was weird. This was the first time he'd really loved anything aside from his family and soccer, but now he was pretty sure about it. And as he watched the bottle spin, he prayed that it would land on anyone other than Aki.

The bottle was slowing down, and to Endou's horror it slowed down right before Aki. It kept going – slowly... slowly... and then it stopped.

And Endou breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Max said. He grabbed his hat sighed with frustration. "I'm not doing this."

"If I had to kiss Megane, then you can kiss Handa!" Natsumi said. Everyone was giggling, except for Handa and Max of course.

The brunet shook his head. "I'm not kissing another guy. Especially not my best friend." Handa covered his mouth for added effect.

"But you have to!" Kurimatsu said. He and Kabeyama were in hysterics, and Domon patted Max on the back.

"It can't be that bad." Ichinose said. Handa's face was starting to get red, and Max was pulling his hat down over his eyes.

"Guys, they don't have to if they don't want to. This is kinda different with two guys and all - " Aki spoke up. She put her hand on Handa's shoulder. "Don't listen to them, okay?"

That was one thing he loved about Aki. She cared about how people felt, and she was always willing to help."

"Yes they do!" Natsumi said. She stood up and yanked on Handa's arm and then on Max's. She got the two boys up and she tried to push them together.

"Do it! Do it!" Everyone else was chanting. Gouenji just sat and smiled, Aki shook her head, and Endou didn't say anything.

"Alright, fine! If it will shut you guys up!" Max said. He looked over at Handa. "I mean... do you want to?"

Handa shrugged and looked away. "Uh... I guess." Handa almost forced himself to face Max again, and then Max neared the brunet. Neither of them knew what they should do with their hands, so Handa's just hung at his sides, when Max's reached up a bit and just stayed there. The two were literally an inch away from each other, and Max then pressed his lips against Handa's. They stood there, lips to lips, for three seconds – Endou counted – and then they broke away. They immediately turned back to back and sat on different sides of the room, facing the walls. Max had his hat pulled all they way over his face, and Handa just cover his face with his hands, as if attempting to hide his red cheeks from everyone else.

"Yeah! Way to go!" Kazemaru said. He and Ichinose leaned against each other, both of them laughing uncontrollably. Natsumi crossed her arms and nodded, feeling quite proud about the fact that her idea had caused this amazing sight.

"Is everything all right down there?" Endou's mother called down from upstairs. Everyone had shut up – no one really needed her down here. "It's gotten pretty loud."

"Uh, we're fine, mom!" Endou called. The last thing he needed was his mom coming down to lecture them. That would be way too embarrassing, especially with Aki down here with them."We're just... uh..."

"Well keep it down, it's almost midnight!" Endou's mother said. Kazemaru slapped his face.

"Oh man... Almost midnight? I have a curfew I need to worry about!" he said. He headed for the door. "Sorry, guys. I need to get home. Thanks for the great party, Endou!" He laughed and was out the door.

"It is getting pretty late..." Gouenji said. Kabeyama and Kurimatsu nodded.

"Yeah... we should get going too." Kurimatsu said.

"Same here." Ichinose and Domon nodded. "Well, see you tomorrow at practice. Thanks for having us!" He and Domon went to fetch Max and Handa, and the two pretty much threw them out the door. Soon everyone was gone, aside from Aki, Natsumi, and Endou.

"Well, I'm sorry our host didn't get any action tonight." Natsumi said. Endou rubbed the back of his head and laughed.

"Hey, that's all right." he said. "I'm actually kind of glad I didn't." From the guys, at least.

"I should be going then." Natsumi said. "I had a great time. We should do this again." she winked, and she was out the door.

"Well, some party that was, huh?" Aki laughed. Endou nodded.

"Ha ha, yeah... and just look at all the fun I'm going to have cleaning down here!" he said. The room was pretty much trashed now – snacks and cups were covering the floor, and the furniture was in chaos.

"I could stay here for a while and help you clean, if you want," Aki offered. "My parents know where I am. I don't think they'll mind."

"A-are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to." Endou said. The thought of being alone with Aki was kind of bittersweet – it was great that he would have her all to himself, but on the other hand he had never been alone with a girl like this, and in all honesty he was kind of scared.

Aki picked up a plastic cup and threw it in a bag. "It's fine, Endou-kun. I don't mind." she smiled.

"I can help too."

"AH!" Aki and Endou screamed. The former jumped and threw her arms around Endou, and Endou stumbled backwards a bit. Kageno had appeared out of nowhere, and he scared the living daylights out of both of them. "Oh, it's just you..."

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Kageno said. He looked over at a clock on the wall, and he made his way to the door. "...actually I should go."

Endou and Aki watched as he left. Aki's arms were still around Endou, and she quickly let go and stood back. "Uh... let's get cleaning, shall we?" she laughed, quite nervously though. "I swear I'll never get used to that."

Feeling disappointed that Aki was no longer hugging him, Endou grabbed a garbage bag and started to clean up as well. The two of them worked together, picking up trash, chatting, and re-arranging furniture. The time seemed to fly, and in no time the basement was all cleaned up. Endou flopped down on the couch, and Aki sat down next to them.

"Man, I'm beat." Endou said. He glanced at the clock. 1:22. Great, it was already tomorrow. Or today. Whatever.

"At least it's all clean now!" Aki smiled. Both of them sat in silence for a while, then Aki stood up. "I really should get going now..."

"C-can't you stay a little longer?" Endou blurted out. Aki looked at him, and Endou quickly covered his mouth. "Er... I mean... your house is just down the street and uh..."

"Uh.. I guess I could," Aki said. "But what do you want me to stay for?"

Endou shook his head. Ugh, why did he always act weird around her? "Nothing really... I mean, you can go home now if you want to. Because I don't care or anything like that."

Aki raised an eyebrow. "Endou-kun, are you okay?"

Endou smiled and nodded. "Yep! Never been better!" Aki shook her head and smiled.

"If you say so." She headed for the door, and Endou got off the couch and followed her. Just before she opened the door, she turned and faced Endou. "I had a really great time tonight. Thanks for inviting me." she smiled and opened the door.

"Aki..." Endou said. Aki let go of the doorknob and looked over at Endou.

"What is it?" she asked, and Endou had no idea what happened next. He grabbed Aki's wrists and pressed his lips against hers. Aki let out a surprised noise, but she didn't pull away from the kiss. The two of them stood there, not moving or anything. Just standing there with their lips touching. Endou finally pulled away and let go of her wrists.

"I-I'm sorry Aki..." Endou said. He turned away and slapped his face. What had he just done? That was probably the stupidest thing he'd ever done in his life, and now Aki was probably going to think that -

Endou felt a pair of arms wrap around his back, and he froze.

"Endou-kun..." Aki said. Endou wriggled around to face Aki, and he hugged her back. "Do... do you really feel the same way?"

Endou nodded. "Aki... I love you."

"I love you too."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**Aww wasn't that just cute. :3**_

_**So I'm starting up a couple's collection thing. I'm just going to write a bunch of oneshots about I11 couples and put them here so I don't spam with a ton of oneshots. Haha. Please note that not all of these will be romance though – I have quite a few friendshippy ideas too ;D You can request a couple if you want, too. Also note that I fail at yaoi, and I'm not doing anything 'hardcore'. I might not do every single request – but it doesn't hurt to ask. :3 I thought this would be a good way to improve my writing, so I really hope it works out! **_

_**Icee Suicune **_


	2. Sakuma x Haruna

After another long, exhausting day of practice, the members of Inazuma Japan all gathered around the benches, grabbing water bottles and towels. Haruna and Fuyuka helped pass things out while Aki cleared her throat and held up a clipboard.

"Nice practice today!" she said. "Next time we'll try working on some individual hissatsu techniques. But now for some announcements."

Aki started to ramble on about some new diet plan, and the only one who payed any attention was Kabeyama. The rest of the team just sat and drank water.

"Can't we go already?" Someoka complained. "No one cares about this stuff anyway."

Aki glared at him. "Be quiet, Someoka! But as I was saying, we're going to be cutting out desserts..."

"No!" Kabeyama cried. Aki stared at him, and he covered his mouth. "Er... sorry."

"And now for our last announcement. Coach has decided that tomorrow will be an off day, so there will be no practice, and you're free to do whatever you like." Aki and the other managers smiled as the boys cheered.

"Oh man, I could use a break," Hiroto said. Fubuki nodded in agreement.

"I've been wanting to explore the island some more," Toramaru said.

"Of course, you're expected to be on your best behavior. You all are Japan's representatives, after all!" Aki said. "So that's all for today." The managers started to collect water bottles as the team headed for their rooms. Sakuma was walking next to Kidou, and the two were discussing their plans for tomorrow.

"So Kidou, what are you thinking of doing?" Sakuma asked. Kidou took off his goggles to wipe his face with a towel.

"Our next match is against The Empire, so I was going to check out the stadium." he said. Sakuma shook his head and smiled.

"Jeeze, Kidou. When aren't you thinking about soccer?" he gave Kidou a friendly nudge, and Kidou smiled.

"Better safe than sorry, Sakuma." The two had ended up at Kidou's room by then, and Kidou opened his door. "I'll see you at supper, then."

"Yeah, see you." Sakuma waved at his friend and headed to his own room. He kicked of his shoes and flopped down on his bed. Today's practice seemed extra tiring, and all Sakuma wanted to do was fall asleep right there. His stomach then growled quite loudly though, and he remembered how hungry he was. After deciding he'd shower after dinner, Sakuma changed his clothes and headed down to the kitchen. Dinner didn't start for another twenty minutes, but Hijitaka and Tobitaka were sitting down at a table playing cards, and Haruna was setting the tables.

"Hey, Sakuma," Hijitaka said. "What are you doin' down here?"

"Oh, I'm just walking around." Sakuma said. Right after he spoke, his stomach growled again. "And uh, I guess I'm kind of hungry too."

Hijitaka laughed. "Aren't we all. Hey, got any fours?" he asked Tobitaka, who shook his head.

"Go fish." Tobitaka smirked, set his hand of cards down, and pulled out his comb. Hijitaka cursed under his breath and drew another card from the deck.

Haruna walked over to them and set down some trays and silverware. "Hey Sakuma, if you're not busy, do you mind helping me out?"

Sakuma nodded. "Uh, sure." Haruna held out a stack of trays, and Sakuma took them from her.

"Thanks." Haruna smiled. "This will get done much faster with two people working." she then grabbed a few trays and started setting them at each place at the table. "You can start where ever, Sakuma."

Sakuma set the stack of trays down on a table, grabbed a few, and went over next to Haruna. He started setting trays down, and Haruna gave him a funny look. Sakuma shrugged. "What?"

"When I said start any where, I didn't mean right next to me," Haruna said. Sakuma could hear Hijitaka muffling his laughter. Sakuma's face felt a little hot.

"I thought it would be nice to talk as we worked." he said. "And... well...it's not easy talking to people across the room."

Lately, Sakuma wanted to get as close to Haruna as he could. He had no idea why, though. After all, she was his best friend's little sister. Even though Haruna was never really around that much before... it still felt kind of weird. But Sakuma didn't have _those_ kinds of feelings about Haruna... right? He was still really confused about it all, and all he really knew is that he felt really happy every time he was talking with Haruna.

"I guess you're right," Haruna said. She set down a few more trays, and then moved on to the next table. Sakuma quickly set down his and was right behind her. "Do you think you got a lot done during practice today?"

"I think so. I think I'm pretty close to getting a new hissatsu worked out..." Sakuma and Haruna continued to talk about soccer as they set the tables. She was a really good listener, Sakuma noted. Soon the two finished with the tables, so they sat down to talk.

"How do you think the match against The Empire will go?" Haruna asked. Sakuma shrugged.

"I'm hoping it will go okay... I mean, no one's been able to score a single point against them yet." he said.

"Well, I'm sure you could." Haruna smiled. Sakuma felt all warm inside when he saw her smile. "I mean, you guys have all been working really hard."

"I guess so." Sakuma said. He felt a bit disappointed when he realized that Haruna didn't mean him in particular, but... Ugh, again with all this confusing stuff. "Hey, what time is it?"

"Time to eat!" Aki called from the kitchen. Haruna laughed.

"There's your answer." she said. Sakuma looked around the dining area, and he was surprised to see that almost everyone was there. He didn't notice anyone come in when he was talking with Haruna. It was weird; every time he was talking with her, he seemed to forget about everything else. Haruna stood up and picked up her tray. "You want to get in line?"

Nodding, Sakuma got his tray and followed Haruna to the food line. Tonight they were having some sort of fish dish, salad, fruit, and as promised no dessert. He and Haruna got their food and went back to their table. Kidou, Fubuki, and Fudou had joined them, and soon everyone was in deep discussion about their next match.

"Coach picked a great day to have no practice, eh?" Fudou said. "Right before a big match..."

"It's good to have downtime. If we're all to tired to play, what good is that going to do?" Fubuki said. Kidou nodded.

"You have a point. But still, right before a match?" he said. Haruna put a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, calm down guys. I'm sure it was just a coincidence. Just be glad you get a break from all this practice." she said. Kidou sighed and nodded.

"I guess I'm just thinking too deep into this." he took a bite of his fish and frowned. "I hate fish..." he mumbled.

For the rest of dinner, everyone ate their food and discussed soccer. As usual, the time seemed to fly and soon it was time to get to bed.

"Okay, Endou and Toramaru have clean up duty. Everyone else is excused. Good night!" Aki said. Sakuma and Haruna took their trays up to the kitchen together, and that's when Sakuma got an idea.

"Hey, Haruna... what do you have planed for tomorrow?" he asked.

Haruna looked up and tapped her chin. "Um... nothing that I know of. I'll probably end up spending it with Aki. Why do you ask?" she said.

"I was wondering... There were a few places that I wanted to check out, and I was wondering..." Sakuma took a deep breath. _Uhh... maybe this isn't such a good idea..._ Sakuma thought. But it was too late to not say anything now. "Would you like to spend the day with me tomorrow?"

Haruna smiled and nodded. "Of course! That sounds fun. Where were you planning on going?" she asked. The two started walking over to their rooms, and Sakuma told her about some sights in the Italy section of the island. Haruna suddenly stopped walking when they reached a door, and she turned to face Sakuma. "Well, here's my room. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that Haruna entered her room, leaving Sakuma alone in the hall.

Smiling, Sakuma headed down to his room. When he got there, he took a quick shower, changed into his pajamas, and brushed his teeth. When he got into bed, he smiled. He'd be spending the day with Haruna tomorrow... and maybe he'd finally figure out what his feelings for her were.

-.-.-

"So the map says that we should have taken a right."

"... we did, didn't we?"

"Oh, give me that! Sakuma, you had the map upside down."

"...oh."

After breakfast that morning, Sakuma and Haruna had headed out for Italy's section on Liocott Island. They took a bus to get there, but now they were on their own, trying to figure out how to get where they needed to go. But unfortunately, neither of them was good with maps, and now they were completely lost.

Haruna sighed. "Let's go sit down over there and think this out." she pointed over to some tables at an outdoor café, and the two headed over and sat down.

"Today hasn't exactly gone as planed, has it?" Sakuma said. Haruna nodded.

"That's for sure. Right now I just want to know where exactly we are." she spread the map out on the table, and she and Sakuma hovered over it. "Okay... I guess we're here then." Haruna pointed to a spot on the map.

"And we want to be... all the way over there." Sakuma put his finger on another point, and when they noticed the huge distance between point A and B, they sighed.

"There's not way we're getting there before sunset." Haruna said.

"I guess we'll just have to change our game plan a bit," Sakuma said. He picked up the map and folded it up. "Why don't we just walk around a bit?"

Haruna nodded, and the two of them started walking down the streets. There were a lot of interesting shops and restaurants to see, and the streets were filled with traveling musicians playing beautiful songs.

"Wow, this place is so cool!" Haruna said. "I wish we had more time to explore."

"Just think what the other sections are like," Sakuma said.

As they roamed the streets, Sakuma and Haruna chatted away. They talked about what they saw in the shops, what they did in their spare time, their favorite things, and their families. Sakuma was having a great time, and he was hoping that Haruna was too. As they talked, Sakuma kept thinking about how he really felt, but he still didn't have a real clear answer. Before they knew it, the sun was starting to sink in the sky, and it was time to return back to 'Japan'.

They caught a bus going back, and on the way Haruna was a bit more quiet than usual.

"Is something wrong?" Sakuma asked. Haruna looked over at him and shook her head.

"No... but Sakuma, why did you really ask me to spend the day with you?" After she asked her question, she looked down at her shoes.

Her question caught Sakuma by surprise, and he felt his face get hot. He had _no idea_ how he should answer that. "I uh... just wanted to do something fun today."

"There's more to it than that, I know it." Haruna said. "Because you don't just go around asking people to spend the day with you for no reason."

_She's not on to anything, is she?_ Sakuma thought. He really hoped she wasn't. _Because if she starts asking questions, then I'll probably do something dumb and -_ "Uh..." That wasn't much of an answer, but...

Things were quiet for a while, until Haruna spoke up. "Sakuma, do... do you like me?" she said. Her voice was so quiet, though, that Sakuma almost didn't hear her over the other sounds on the bus.

_Oh great. The one question I definitely_ _don't know the answer to..._ "Well of course I do." he laughed nervously.

"That's not what I mean." Haruna said. Sakuma looked down at her, and she was blushing... a lot.

Sakuma sighed. "I wanted you to come here with me because... well, lately I've been thinking of how I feel about you. It's... changed. And I wasn't sure how I really felt. So I wanted to spend the day with you because I thought it would help me figure things out."

"So did you figure things out?" Haruna asked. Sakuma closed his eyes. He loved talking with her. Her smile was the most beautiful thing on the island. And he really wanted to be with her. Suddenly it hit him – hard. Thinking back to about two seconds ago, it seemed really stupid that he was so oblivious. Sakuma opened his eyes and grabbed Haruna's hand.

"Yes, I did. Haruna, I... I really like you." Sakuma said.

Haruna stared down at her hand, then she looked up to Sakuma. "Really?"

He nodded.

Suddenly Haruna threw her arms around Sakuma's neck and smiled. "Oh, I'm so happy! Sakuma, I'm so glad you feel the same!"

Sakuma hugged her back. As they hugged, Sakuma noticed that several people were staring at them. He wasn't sure if it was because they recognized him or if the whole hugging thing was kind of odd, but he didn't really care. They sat there, hugging, for most of the ride back to their place. They got off the bus together, hand in hand.

"I had a really nice time today, Sakuma." Haruna said. Sakuma nodded.

"Me too."

-.-.-

The next day at breakfast, a very angry looking Kidou approached Sakuma as he ate.

"Uh, hi Kidou," he said. Kidou crossed his arms and frowned. Sakuma didn't have a good feeling about this...

"Sakuma... may I ask _why_ I saw you holding hands with my sister yesterday?" Kidou said. Sakuma laughed nervously and shoved a piece of toast in his mouth.

This was going to be a fun conversation.

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot! Both HikariYuiFarah and Floric1434 requested Sakuma x Haruna, so here it is! Personally, I prefer little Haruna with Kazemaru, but this is cute too ;D**_

_**Er... I really hope this made sense towards the end ;0;**_

_**Icee Suicune ^^**_

_**Up next: Gouenji x Natsumi**_


	3. Kazemaru, Miyasaka, Gazel, Burn, Aphrodi

**_First: I kinda lied about the Gouenji x Natsumi being next. Tomorrow, I promise! ;3_**

-.-.-**_  
_**

"Hey, Kazemaru, wait up!"

Kazemaru turned around to see Miyasaka running towards him and waving his arms to get his attention. Kazemaru stopped and waited for him to catch up, and when he did he leaned over and tried to catch his breath.

"Hi Miyasaka," Kazemaru said. "What's up?"

Miyasaka stood up straight and smiled. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favor," he said.

"What kind of favor?" Kazemaru asked. _I swear, _he thought. _If this has to do with me rejoining the track team..._

"Well, I was just thinking, now that we're in different sports, we don't do much together anymore." Miyasaka said. "So, I was wondering if you could teach me how to play soccer."

Kazemaru sighed. _Oh, that's all. _"Sure I can." he smiled. Miyasaka smiled too, and he punched the air in excitement.

"Awesome! I can't wait!" he said. Kazemaru laughed. Miyasaka had always gotten excited over the smallest things. In fact, he remembered one time during a track meet, everyone got participation ribbons, and when Miyasaka got his he was just thrilled. "When are we gonna start?"

"Well, the sooner the better, right?" Kazemaru said. He started walking in the direction of the soccer field and he waved for Miyasaka to follow. "Come on, let's go."

"Right behind you!" Miyasaka said, and he ran after his friend.

-.-.-

"Stop using my armrest!"

"_Your_ armrest? Nuh-uh, it's mine!"

"_Move! _I mean it!"

"Make me!"

"Would you two stop bickering, please?" Aphrodi snapped. "We're almost there. If you're going to kill each other, please wait until we've made it back on land." Aphrodi, Gazel, and Burn had decided to pay Raimon a little visit from Korea. After all, they hadn't seen each other since the preliminary matches, and that was quite a while ago. Burn, who was sitting in the middle of the row, sighed and crossed his arms.

"Fine. I'll let the baby have his stupid armrest." he said.

Gazel ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't want it anymore. Not if you're going to act like a child who doesn't get what he wants." he turned and faced the isle, and Burn grabbed his arm.

"No! I'm letting you have it, so use it!" he attempted to force Gazel's arm down, and the two of them started wrestling around. Aphrodi sighed and looked out the window. He could see the airport down below. Everything looked so tiny from up here...

"Ow! Did you just bite me?"

Aphrodi closed his eyes and shook his head. They couldn't reach the airport soon enough.

-.-.-

"So... all I do is dribble the ball between those cones?" Miyasaka asked. He and Kazemaru were on the field. Kazemaru had gone to the clubhouse and grabbed a few cones to use, and he had set them up in a straight line. He nodded at Miyasaka.

"Yep. See if you can make it to the end without going out of bounds." Kazemaru said. Miyasaka smiled and started kicking the ball.

"This is going to be a piece of cake!" he said. He made his way around one cone... two... three...

On the fourth cone, however, he kicked the ball a little too far, and it rolled off to the side. Miyasaka watched it and frowned, while Kazemaru smirked.

"So, piece of cake, eh?"

"Shut up." Miyasaka ran after the ball and picked it up. He went to the beginning of the cones again, and he set the ball down. "I'll get it this time. Just watch." Miyasaka started dribbling again, and this time he made it to cone eight before he kicked it to the side again. He cursed under his breath and fetched the ball again. This continued several times; Miyasaka kicked the ball for a while and when it went out of bounds he fetched it and started over. No matter how many times he tried, though, he couldn't seem to get it all the way to the end.

After trial twenty, Miyasaka didn't go get the ball. Instead he flopped down on the ground.

"Why can't I get it, Kazemaru?" he asked. Kazemaru went over and sat down next to him.

"You will eventually," he said. "You just need more practice."

"But that's what I've been doing!" Miyasaka said. He sighed in frustration. "There's probably something wrong with me."

"Hey, don't think like that." Kazemaru said. He stood up and held out a hand to Miyasaka. "Let's go and try again, okay?"

Miyasaka grabbed his hand and stood up. "Okay..."

-.-.-

As the three of them approached Raimon's front gate, Aphrodi smiled.

"Well, here we are." he said. Burn and Gazel were close behind him. The two boys were covered in scratches and bruises, and Gazel was holding his arm.

"Nice lightning bolt." Burn laughed. Gazel nudged him.

"Be nice. So Terumi, do you think the Raimon Eleven are here?" Gazel asked. Aphrodi shrugged.

"I have no idea. I do hope they are, though." Aphrodi smiled. "It's been too long since I've seen them."

"Hey, what's that little shack over there?" Burn asked. He pointed over at an old, rundown building.

"That's the soccer team's clubhouse," Aphrodi said. "Come on, let's go see if they're there!" he ran ahead, leaving Gazel and Burn to catch up with him.

-.-.-

"Can we take a break? I'm getting kinda tired." Miyasaka said. He wiped some sweat from his brow and looked down at the soccer ball.

"Sure." Kazemaru said. He and Miyasaka sat down on the sidelines. "You know, you are getting better."

Miyasaka rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that. I've been practicing forever and I still can't get all the way through..."

"You know, Miyasaka, you're not going to be perfect right away. You should know that it takes hard work and lots of practice to get good at something." Kazemaru said. "And if this is your first time playing soccer, I'd say you're pretty good."

Miyasaka brought his knees up under his chin and was quiet for a while. He must have seen something in the distance, though, because he perked up and squinted his eyes. "Hey... who are they?"

Kazemaru followed his gaze and tried to make out the figures. There were three of them, and they were getting closer. As they neared, Kazemaru could start to make out the features on them. One had long, blonde hair and...

"Aphrodi?" Kazemaru stood up and shielded his eyes from the sun.

"Hey, that guy looks familiar!" Miyasaka said. "Didn't you play him in the finals?"

"Yeah, we did," Kazemaru said. "Hey Aphrodi! Over here!"

-.-.-

"Hey, who's over there?" Gazel asked. He had caught up to Aphrodi, and he noticed two people sitting by the soccer field. "Are they on the team?"

Aphrodi squinted and looked over there. "Let's go see." he said. The two of them headed over to see who they were. "Hey, where did Nagumo go?"

Gazel shrugged. "He said he wanted to go check out the clubhouse. Maybe to see if they're there?"

As they got closer, Aphrodi could see the two people better, and he smiled when he recognized one of them. "Hey, it's Kazemaru!" He must have seen them too, because one of them stood up and started waving. Aphrodi started to run, and Gazel was right behind him.

"Hey Aphrodi! Over here!" No doubt that was Kazemaru's voice. But Aphrodi didn't recognize the girl sitting next to him. Soon they had met up, and Kazemaru patted Aphrodi's back. "It's been a while! How have you been?"

"I've been fine. Korea's got us training hard, though." Aphrodi laughed. "So, who's this?" he nodded towards Miyasaka. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Miyasaka blushed. "What? No! I happen to be a _boy, _thank you very much. I'm just Kazemaru's friend."

Kazemaru, whose face was also a bit on the pink side, rubbed the back of his head. "That's a lot coming from you, Aphrodi." Gazel laughed.

Aphrodi crossed his arms and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "Oh, be quiet. I'm _fabulous,_ not feminine."

"Anyway, we just stopped by to visit the Raimon team. Are any of them around?" Gazel asked.

Kazemaru shook his head. "Nope. Just me and Miyasaka."

Miyasaka nodded. "Kazemaru's teaching me how to play soccer. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be..."

"You're learning soccer, eh?" Aphrodi said. He looked over at Gazel, who nodded. "How about playing a little game with us? A friendly two-on-two contest. What do you say?"

"Well, I don't know... I mean, he just started today-" Kazemaru began, but Miyasaka cut him off.

"Sounds great!" he said.

Kazemaru put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure? These guys are on the national level,"

"I seem to remember someone saying that it takes a lot of hard work and lots of practice to get good at something, and this seems like a great chance." Miyasaka smirked at a frowning Kazemaru. "And besides. You even said I was pretty good for only one day."

"Yeah, _one_ day." Kazemaru said.

Aphrodi held up his hands. "Hey, if you don't want to play, that's fine. We can just visit if you would like."

Miyasaka shook his head. "Are you kidding me? Let's get playing!"

-.-.-

"We'll let you guys have the ball first." Gazel said. He kicked the ball towards Kazemaru and Miyasaka. They were standing in the middle of the field, ready to go.

"Okay, Miyasaka. Here's the plan. You run up as close as you can to the goal, and when we're both clear I'll pass it to you. Sound good?" Kazemaru said. Miyasaka nodded. "Alright. Keep an eye on me, okay?"

"You got it!" Miyasaka said. He clenched his fists and smiled. "This is going to be so fun!"

"Ready when you are!" Aphrodi called. Miyasaka looked over at Kazemaru, who nodded, and he kicked the ball to him.

"Go!" Kazemaru said. Miyasaka immediately started running towards the goal, and Aphrodi quickly came and covered him. Kazemaru and Gazel were working their way down as well, and Gazel was trying his best to get the ball.

"You've gotten better," Gazel said.

"Same with you," Kazemaru faked a left, and Gazel fell for it. "Miyasaka!"

"I got it!" Miyasaka called. He ran up to Kazemaru, and Kazemaru kicked the ball towards him. He reached the ball and started dribbling to the goal. But Aphrodi was a pretty good defender, so he had blocked Miyasaka fairly quickly. They were both moving in sync, and Aphrodi laughed.

"You're not bad for a beginner." he said. Miyasaka smiled.

"Thanks, but flattery's not going to get you anywhere." Miyasaka tried to get past him, but Aphrodi always seemed to be one step ahead. He kept his place right in front of Miyasaka, and Miyasaka started to panic.

_Aw man... what do I do? _Miyasaka thought. _If I just stand here, he'll steal the ball for sure!_

"Hey, Miyasaka!" Kazemaru called. "Remember the cones!"

Miyasaka raised his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think!"

Miyasaka tried to think of what the cones would do... then he got it. _If I had to weave through the cones to get past them... maybe that will work here!_ Even though he never made it to the end of the cone line, this idea was Miyasaka's best bet. He started to push forward with the ball, going left and right and left and right. Soon, they had approached the goal. Miyasaka took a deep breath and pushed left, then he took a hard right, and that was enough to lose Aphrodi. And that meant that Miyasaka had a clear shot at the goal. He brought his leg back and...

_Diiiing..._

Miyasaka had kicked the ball with everything he had, but unfortunately he didn't take aim into consideration. The ball had hit one of the posts and ricocheted back, nearly hitting him in the face. Aphrodi had recovered the ball, and he stood in front of Miyasaka.

"I missed..." Miyasaka sulked. Aphrodi walked up to him and smiled.

"But you were great! You managed to get past me, and I'm amazing." Aphrodi said. Miyasaka smiled.

"Yeah... that was pretty neat, wasn't it?" He said. Aphrodi nodded.

"You bet. Hey, next time you try to shoot, focus more on aim then power. That really helps a lot of the time."

"Really?" Miyasaka said. "I have to try that."

"You'll have to get the ball back first!" Aphrodi called, and he hurried down the field.

"Hey! Wait up!" Miyasaka laughed and chased after him. Kazemaru and Gazel watched as the other two ran around the field and laughed. They had started to kick the back and forth to each other, and they seemed like they had completely forgotten about the game they were in.

"That kid's got some talent," Gazel said. "Who knows? Maybe he'll be your next recruit."

Kazemaru smiled. "After all, he's got an amazing teacher like me to learn from." Gazel shook his head and smiled.

"Of course he does."

-.-.-

"Thank you so much for playing with us, guys! That was so fun!" Miyasaka said. Kazemaru, Aphrodi, and Gazel were sitting down, drinking their water bottles, while Miyasaka was still up and pacing around. "Oh man, did you guys see when I made my first goal? I totally ran right past Aphrodi and got it in! How cool is that?"

The three let him ramble on and on about the game. Kazemaru wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was pretty fun."

Gazel nodded. "I have to agree. I haven't had this much fun since the prelims."

"I'm surprised that someone could be this good after one day! Kazemaru, you must be some kind of miracle worker!" Aphrodi said. Kazemaru laughed.

"It's not all me. Once Miyasaka puts his mind to something, he can do pretty much anything." Kazemaru said. Well, aside from the whole track team thing... but that was different.

"Hey, who's that over there?" Miyasaka said. He pointed over by the clubhouse. Someone was walking towards them. But once everyone saw the red tuilp-like haircut, there was no mistaking who it was.

"Jeeze Burn, what took you so long?" Gazel said. Burn shrugged.

"Oh, I was just... checking some things out. It's good to see you again, Kazemaru." Burn said. "Who's the chick?" He pointed to Miyasaka, who went red all over again.

"I'm not a girl! I'm a _boy!_ When are you people going to understand that?" Miyasaka yelled. Burn laughed.

"Hey, hey, calm down." he said. "But Aphrodi, don't you think it's about time we head back? It's getting pretty late." Sure enough, the sun was already starting to set, and the sky was turning pink and orange. Aphrodi nodded.

"I suppose you're right." Him and Gazel stood up. "Kazemaru, Miyasaka, thank you for the great game. We'll have to get together like this more often!" Aphrodi said.

"Yeah, I want to see how much little Miyasaka improves." Gazel said. He smiled at Miyasaka, who was sticking his tongue out at him.

"I'm not that little," Miyasaka said.

Kazemaru shook Aphrodi's hand. "Thanks again for the game. Today was great." he said. Aphrodi flipped his hair over his shoulder and nodded.

"Well, we should be going then. We'll see you later!" Aphrodi said. He, Gazel, and Burn started to head back to the main gates, and Kazemaru and Miyasaka waved them goodbye.

"Oh, Kazemaru!" Burn stopped walking and turned around. "I left a little surprise for you in your locker! I'm sure you'll love it!" he called, and after that he turned around and caught up with his group.

"I wish I got a surprise." Miyasaka said. "Oh well. Kazemaru, thank you so much for helping me out today."

Kazemaru smiled and nodded. "Hey, no problem. I kinda miss practicing with you. We'll have to do it again sometime."

Miyasaka nodded. "Well, I should be going too. I'll see you tomorrow!" he said. Kazemaru waved goodbye, and the two of them headed back home in their respective directions.

Kazemaru looked up at the sky. Soccer was really a great thing. It could bring people together – like today – and it let them have so much fun. And it felt great to be back with Miyasaka, too. Even though he had really gotten on his nerves about the whole track club thing... they were still friends, and Kazemaru was glad Miyasaka understood the joys of soccer too.

He knew he'd never forget this day.

-.-.-

The next day at practice, the boys were in the clubhouse getting changed. Kazemaru went up to the locker and spun in the combination on the lock. He then remembered what Burn had said yesterday; he had left him a surprise. Curious to see what it was, Kazemaru opened his locker door. When he saw the 'surprise', his eyes widened in horror.

"What is _that?_"

Instead of seeing his normal soccer uniform in there, he was treated to a nice set of girl's pajamas. He lifted the shirt – it was light pink and had flower and cat designs on it. Kazemaru felt his face get hot, and he set the shirt back in his locker and closed the door without a word.

_Thanks, Burn. What a delightful surprise._

_-.-.-_

_**AN: **_

_**This was requested by Cenkovah on deviantART. She just gave me a list of characters she liked, and I managed to get everyone in there except for poor Fubuki. I hope she doesn't mind! Anyway, go check out her deviantART sometime, she has really great art! :D**_

_**I actually had a lot of fun writing this :D I just rewatched some episodes with Burn, and I remembered how much I loved that guy. XD Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this!  
**_

_**Icee Suicune**_


	4. Gouenji x Natsumi

Gouenji stood against a light post, watching people hurry down the busy sidewalk. He was waiting for someone, and as he stood it started to snow lightly. Gouenji sighed and pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. 4:45... she was late. He pulled his sleeve back down and shoved his hands in his pockets. He'd give her another five minutes. Then he was leaving.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Gouenji-kun."

Gouenji glanced over his shoulder and smiled. Natsumi waved and hurried up to him. "Hey. It's about time you got here."

Natsumi slapped his arm lightly. "Oh hush. I'm not that late." she took Gouenji's hand and they started down the sidewalk. "So what do we have planed for today?"

Gouenji shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing? Then it shouldn't be a problem that I was late." Natsumi said.

"Plans or no plans, being late is still rude."

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Oh whatever. Hey, why don't we go to the park?" She said. "The snow makes it really pretty this time of year."

"Sounds good." Gouenji said. The two of them headed for the park, hand in hand. When they got there, Natsumi smiled and looked around.

"Wow," she said.

"You were right about it being pretty." Gouenji said. "Yuuka would love to see this."

"How is she doing?" Natsumi asked. "She's been awake for a while now, but is she home yet?"

Gouenji shook his head. "No, not yet. In a few days, though."

Natsumi smiled. "That's good to hear. I want to see her again soon." When Natsumi and Gouenji first started dating, Gouenji had taken Natsumi to meet Yuuka. At first, Natsumi was a bit awkward – she was never good with kids – but soon the two hit it off pretty well.

"She wants to see you too." Gouenji said, then he chucked. "All she talks about is Natsumi this and Natsumi that."

Natsumi slapped his arm again. "Oh, stop it." she smiled. "But you can't really blame her."

Gouenji smiled and put his arm around her waist. "So, where are we going now?"

Natsumi pointed to a path near a bridge. "Let's go there." she said. They started walking, and on their way Natsumi heard some noises. "Do you hear that?" she said.

Gouenji raised an eyebrow. "Hear what?"

"Shh, listen!" Natsumi hissed. She strained to hear, and soon she could make out sniffing noises. "I think someone's crying."

"We should check it out," Gouenji said. He and Natsumi started searching the area around the path, and soon Gouenji waved Natsumi over to where he was standing.

"Did you find it?" she asked. Gouenji nodded and sat down on the ground. Natsumi raised an eyebrow as she headed over to her boyfriend's side. "What are you doing on the ground?"

Gouenji, who looked like he was talking to something, held up a finger. "No, it's okay. I'd be happy to help you."

"Gouenji, what are you-" Natsumi walked up behind him and looked over to see what he was talking to. She saw a little boy, probably seven or eight, sitting down in the snow crying. Next to him was a heap of snow and rocks. "Uh... oh."

The little boy sniffed and wiped his eyes on his mittens. "W-who is she, Gouenji-san?"

"Her? Oh, that's Natsumi. She's my... friend." Gouenji said. Natsumi made a noise and crossed her arms.

"_Friend?_" she said. Gouenji turned around and mouthed 'I'm sorry' and turned back to the boy. "Oh, I get it. Well, your _friend_ is going to leave you soon if you don't-"

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm keeping you from Gouenji-san." The boy bowed his head. "Thank you, Gouenji-san. But you don't have to-"

"What's your name?" Natsumi asked. The boy looked up and wiped his eyes again.

"I-I'm Katsuo," he said.

"Okay, Katsuo, what do you want?" Natsumi asked. Gouenji turned around and frowned.

"Hey, Natsumi, don't be-" Gouenji started, but Natsumi cut him off.

"No, it's okay. I just want to know what's going on." she said. Katsuo pointed over at the heap of snow and sniffed.

"Well, I was here playing in the snow. Then some bullies came and started bugging me, and one of them knocked over my fort." he said. Natsumi nodded. "And I wanted to see if... if Gouenji-san could help me get back at them."

"I'm sorry that they bullied you, kid. But Gouenji and I have places we need to be." she pulled Gouenji off the ground and tried to drag him down the path. "Good luck."

Gouenji dug his feet into the ground and grabbed Natsumi's arm. "Hey, listen. This kid... he said he looks up to the Raimon Eleven. It would mean a lot to him if I just, you know,"

"No, Gouenji. He's just some stupid kid who's crying over some stupid thing. Now, come on. Let's just go." Natsumi took a few steps away and looked back at Gouenji. "Are you coming or not?"

Gouenji was looking over his shoulder at Katsuo. He stood up and looked down at his wrecked fort and started wiping his eyes again. "Natsumi... he reminds me of Yuuka."

Natsumi sighed and rolled her eyes. _Come on, Natsumi. Just keep going. Don't let the whole Yuuka guilt trip get to you._ A little voice in her head said. She looked back again, at Katsuo. He looked so sad, though... _No, Natsumi! Look away!_ the voice said again, but she sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's go help him." she walked back over to Katsuo, and Gouenji smiled. _Great, Natsumi. You've gotten really soft._

"Oh, shut up!" Natsumi snapped. Gouenji shot her a look. "Uh, that was nothing. Let's just go and get this over with."

Once they were back with Katsuo, he looked up and smiled. "Oh, Natsumi-san, do you want to help me too?"

Natsumi looked away. "Uh... yeah. Gouenji and I will help you with your bully problems." she felt something grab her, and when she looked down Katsuo had his arms wrapped around her waist. He looked up at her, and his smile looked way to wide for a normal human face.

"Oh, thank you so much! This is so cool, _the_ Gouenji-san is going to help me! And his friend is here, too!" Katsuo buried his snotty face into Natsumi's coat, but before she could snap at him Gouenji came up beside her and put an arm on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Natsumi." he smiled, and Natsumi smiled back. She tapped on Katsuo's head, and when he looked up a string of snot that was stuck to her coat stretched all the way to his nose. It was probably the most disgusting thing Natsumi had seen, but on this little kid it looked almost... cute.

"Katsuo-kun, where are these bullies that you were talking about?" Natsumi asked. Katsuo turned and pointed behind him.

"They ran away over there, to the playground." Katsuo said.

"Can you lead us there?" Gouenji asked. Katsuo nodded and ran in the direction of the playground.

"Come on!" he said. Gouenji and Natsumi followed close behind him. They all stopped when they reached some snow covered bushes, and Katsuo crouched down. Gouenji and Natsumi did the same, and they pushed the branches aside to get a better view at everything. "There they are."

On the playground, there were three boys, all around the same age and maybe a bit older than Katsuo. One of them was pretty tall and lanky, an another was short and a bit chubby. But the one in the middle, who appeared to be their 'leader', was a huge, bulky kid with close cut hair and huge limbs. Natsumi guessed he weighed about as much as Kabeyama did, and when Natsumi saw his face, she almost screamed. He had the ugliest, meanest, and scariest face she had ever seen on a person, and this kid was probably ten years old.

"Are they the bullies?" Gouenji asked. Katsuo nodded and frowned. The bullies were now chasing kids off the play sets, and the huge kid was laughing. His laugh was like a cruel cackle, and when the other two laughed it made it sound ten times more horrible.

"They like to pick on all the kids that play around here." Katsuo said. He pointed at the huge kid. "That one's Takashi. He's their boss."

"Boss?" Natsumi said. "He looks more like a dictator if you ask me."

"The other two are Mao and Nao." Katsuo said.

"Aw, matching names. How cute."

"What kinds of things do they do?" Gouenji asked.

"They like to break kids' snow forts and stuff. And they like to chase kids off the playground, and they steal stuff and make fun of us." Katsuo said. "My little sister doesn't play here anymore because they were so mean. She used to love going to the playground with me." He looked like he was about to cry again. "I'm her big brother, and I'm supposed to take care of her. But... but I can't."

Gouenji put his hand on Katsuo's shoulder. "Hey... I understand how that feels."

Natsumi sighed and looked away from the two. She hated getting emotional... and well, this whole big brother bonding session was getting kinda... yeah.

"I-I just want her to feel safe here again." Katsuo said. Gouenji nodded. He stood up and looked over at the bullies, who were now punching each other in the arms.

"I'll go talk to them," Gouenji said. "Natsumi, you keep an eye on Katsuo." he made his way through the bushes and walked up to the play set.

"Is Gouenji-san going to be okay?" Katsuo asked. Natsumi shook her head.

"Of course."

-.-.-

"Excuse me," Gouenji said. He was at the base of the play set, looking up at the bully trio. Takashi, who had the tall lanky kid, Nao, in a headlock looked down at Gouenji and frowned. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Hey, it's that fancy soccer player, Gouenji Shuuya." Takashi said. He released Nao, and he fell down with a thud. "What are you doin' here?"

Gouenji crossed his arms. "I've heard that you guys have been causing trouble around here."

"Yeah. So what?" Takashi said. Mao – the shorter, fat kid – walked up and stared down at Gouenji.

"We chase away the babies so it's more fun to play here." he said.

"That's not very nice, is it?" Gouenji said.

"I never said it was nice." Takashi said. Gouenji raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Well, I'm asking you guys if you could please stop it. Other kids like to play here too, and you shouldn't be so mean to them."

"Aw, Mr. Fancy soccer player wants us to be nice!" Nao said. Takashi smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ah shut up. Get me a snowball." he demanded, and Nao scurried away to fetch his boss one. When Nao came back, his arms were full of snow. Takashi smirked and grabbed a ball.

"And what are those for?" Gouenji asked. Takashi just smiled.

"No one tells me how to run _my_ playground." And with that, Takashi started chucking snowballs at Gouenji.

"Wha-" Gouenji said. He covered his head and ran back to the safety of the bushes. He could hear Takashi and his pals laughing behind him, and Gouenji scowled.

"Did it work?" Katsuo asked, an eager smile on his face. Gouenji brushed snow out of his hair and shook his head.

"I tried, but they pelted me with snowballs." Gouenji said. Katsuo frowned and Natsumi brushed snow off his jacket.

"Well, we tried. Can we go now?" Natsumi asked. Gouenji frowned at her, and she sighed. "All right, fine. What else can we do, though?"

"Did you say they got you with snowballs?" Katsuo asked. Gouenji nodded, and Katsuo rubbed his chin, as if he was deep in thought. "Hm..."

"I'm not going to lie... a few of those kinda hurt." Gouenji said. Natsumi shook her head.

"You'll live." she said. "You know, those stupid bully kids are starting to get on my nerves. What did they say to you, anyway?" Natsumi asked.

"What got to me is that the Takashi boy said that this was 'his playground.'" Gouenji said. "Dumb kid acting like he's so great..."

"Wow, I've never heard you talk like that before." Natsumi said. "Especially about little kids."

Gouenji shrugged. "These kids are jerks. And I'm not going to put up with them." he said. Natsumi smiled.

"Hey, I think I have an idea!" Katsuo said. He waved Natsumi and Gouenji over, and he explained his idea. Gouenji smiled, and Natsumi shrugged.

"I guess it couldn't hurt. You two have fun with that." she said. Katsuo grabbed her sleeve.

"B-but Natsumi-san, we need your help too," Katsuo said. "Because, you know... there's three of them, so there should be three of us."

"He has a point," Gouenji smiled. Natsumi frowned.

"Alright, fine. But if I get hit in the face-" she threatened, but Katsuo smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they won't get you."

"Now, let's get started on making our 'ammo'," Gouenji said. The other two nodded and got to work.

-.-.-

"Hey, Mao, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a-" Nao started, but then he looked out in the distance and squinted. "Hey, Mao, it's that Katsuo kid and his stupid soccer friend."

Mao waddled over to the edge of the play set and looked over. "Yeah... we should tell the Boss." Nao nodded and hurried over to Takashi, who was leaning against a pole and sleeping.

"Whaddya want?" he snapped. Nao jerked back and frowned.

"Uh, Boss... Katsuo and Mr. Fancy Soccer are back. They got a girl, too." Nao said.

Takashi stretched and snapped his fingers. "So they came back for more, eh?" he stood up and went over to the edge of the play set with Mao.

"G-Gouenji-san?" Katsuo said. His arms were full of snowballs. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Gouenji nodded. "If you want to get them to leave you all alone, it's best to give them a taste of their own medicine."

Natsumi frowned. "Ugh... when can we start throwing these things? They're getting heavy. And I'm cold."

"Just wait." Gouenji said. "Hey, Takashi!" He called.

"What do you guys want?" Takashi, who was now standing at the very edge of the play set, looked down at the three.

"I want my playground back!" Katsuo said. Natsumi smiled. That kid was something else. Nervous one second and all fired up the next...

"And what are ya gonna do to get it?" Takashi snickered. Mao and Nao joined in, and Katsuo grabbed a snowball.

"This!" He chucked the snowball as hard as he could, and it hit Takashi square in the face. He stumbled backwards, and he brushed the snow off his face.

"Aww... You asked for it!" Takashi yelled. He ordered Mao and Nao to get snowballs, but Gouenji and Natsumi started throwing snowballs themselves. Before Mao and Nao could get anywhere, Gouenji hit Mao, causing him to slip down a slide, and Natsumi had Nao covered head to toe in snow. Katsuo kept throwing snowballs at Takashi, but he kept dodging them.

"Is that all you got?" he called. Gouenji and Natsumi looked at each other and nodded. And is if on cue, both of them threw snowballs at him, causing him to fall backwards on his butt. "Ouch!"

Mao and Nao scrambled to their feet and ran away, with Nao in tears. Takashi was close behind them, and before he was out of sight, he turned back and yelled at Katsuo and the others.

"Alright, have your stupid playground! I was getting tired of it anyway!" And with that, he was gone.

Katsuo dropped his snowballs and smiled. Natsumi noticed his larger than normal mouth, and he started jumping and punching the air. "We did it!"

Gouenji and Natsumi dropped their snowballs as well, and Gouenji picked Natsumi up and twirled her around.

"Nice aim," Gouenji said. Natsumi laughed and smiled. It did seem a bit mean, but she never knew how fun it was to hit kids with snowballs. And that Katsuo kid was happy, too. He could have his sister come back to play with him, and things would be good at the playground again.

And before she could register what was happening, Gouenji kissed her – right on the lips. It wasn't very slow or complex, just a quick little peck on her mouth. He put her down and went over to high-five Katsuo.

Natsumi put her hand to her mouth. Gouenji had just... given her her first kiss.

"Thank you so much, Gouenji-san!" Katsuo hugged Gouenji around his waist, and he looked over at Natsumi. "Thank you too, Natsumi-san... uh..." Gouenji looked over at her, too, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Natsumi? Why are you so red?" he asked. Natsumi walked over to him and slapped him across the face. "Ouch! What was that for?"

Natsumi put her hands on her hips and glared at Gouenji. "Gouenji Shuuya, that happened to be my first kiss!"

Gouenji put his hand on his face. "Really? Why are you so upset then?"

"What do you mean, 'why are you so upset'?" Natsumi went on. "My first kiss was _not_ supposed to end up like this! It was supposed to be _much_ more romantic, and I hardly think that a stupid playground of all places is appropriate for this kind of thing!" She continued to rant on and on about her first kiss to poor Gouenji. Katsuo stuck out his tongue and shook his head. Kissing? How gross!

"Ew... I'm never gonna kiss a girl!" he said. He looked over at Gouenji, who was frowning and trying to apologize to his angry girlfriend. Katsuo smiled and waved at Gouenji. "Good luck with Natsumi-san!" he said, and with that he started to run home.

"Katsuo? Don't leave me!" Gouenji called. Natsumi crossed her arms.

"Are you even listening to me?" she demanded. Gouenji sighed.

"Yes, Natsumi..." he said.

Right now, he really envied Katsuo...

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**Well, here's Gouenji x Natsumi! I'm sorry it's late, I had some troubles with the uploading stuff on . **_

_**Anyway, where I live the snow was JUST starting to melt and it was really starting to feel like Spring... and then it goes and snows on us, so now we have eight inches ;0; Stupid Midwest weather!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you don't think the ending is terrible ^^;; (I just wanted to get it done, hehe.) Up next is Gouenji x Haruna!**_

_**Icee Suicune ;D**_


	5. Haruna x Gouenji

The sky was getting darker and darker, and the Raimon Eleven were getting ready for bed. After a nice chat session around the campfire outside the Inazuma Caravan, the boys headed onto the bus and the girls settled down in Natsumi's weird inflatable tent. After they were all done changing into their pajamas and brushing their teeth, the girls crawled into their sleeping bags – but they weren't planning to fall asleep anytime soon.

Haruna noticed the empty one beside her. "Hey, Coach is gone again." she said. Coach Hitomiko always stayed up late. She was either on the phone with someone or outside walking around doing who knows what. But that wasn't a problem for the girls at all. Without Coach Hitomiko around, they could talk as much as they wanted.

"When isn't she?" Touko said. "But hey, I'm not complaining." she smiled.

"Hopefully she won't be back anytime soon!" Rika said. She had a mischievous smile on her face, and the other girls sighed. "I think tonight's a great night to play-" 

"Rika, no one wants to play that stupid truth or dare game." Natsumi snapped. She glared at Rika, who frowned.

"Oh, come on! I've been wanting to play this for a long time, and you girls never want to!" she whined. Touko rolled her eyes.

"Just shut it, okay?" she said. "Maybe some other time."

"But this is the perfect time to!" Rika went on, and Haruna shook her head. "Just think of all the possibilities! I mean, we're almost alone out here with a busload of guys!" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Yuuto would kill me..." Haruna said.

"And we're not 'almost alone', Rika." Aki said. "I mean, Coach is still around. Plus the bus driver sleeps there too."

Rika crossed her arms. "You girls are such downers!" she flopped down on her sleeping bag dramatically. "You wouldn't rather sleep, would you?"

"Yes, I would." Natsumi snapped.

"Well that's just you. But what about you, Touko?" Rika said. The pink haired girl looked over at her friend.

"I guess not... but I don't want to play that stupid game either." Touko said. Rika sighed.

"Aki? Haruna?" she asked. But the other two girls shook their heads.

"Sorry, Rika." Aki said. "I'm sure there's other ways we can have fun, though."

"What else is there to do?" Rika said.

"We could all sleep." Natsumi, who was now had her face buried in her pillow, mumbled. Rika shook her head.

"Fine. _You_ can. But I want to have some sort of fun tonight." Rika said. She sat up and scanned the tent. "Hey... I have an idea."

"Oh yay." Natsumi said. Rika ignored her and clapped her hands together.

"If we can't play with the boys, then let's talk about 'em!"

"And we don't want to hear about you and Ichinose, either." Natsumi said.

"I didn't mean _my _boy!" Rika said. "I mean you girls! We all know who I have my eye on, but what about you? I want to know details!" she laughed. "Although it's pretty obvious with some of you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Touko said. Rika raised her eyebrows and nudged her friend's arm.

"Oh, come on. A blind man could see who you're crushing on."

"This is ridiculous. I vote on kicking her out of the tent." Natsumi said.

"Same with you!" Rika said, a bit too loudly. She pointed at Natsumi, then she turned to Aki. "And you, too."

Aki's face went a bit red. "W-what do you mean?" All three girls were glancing at each other, while Haruna just sat back and watched.

"Two words: Endou Mamoru." Rika said. "All three of you like the Captain, obviously!"

Touko, Aki, and Natsumi were all quite a bit pink now, with Aki blushing the most. She shook her head and laughed. "That's silly! Endou-kun and I are just friends-"

"Endou-_kun_?" Rika smiled. Touko rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything, Rika." she said. "I use that a lot."

"Name one person."

Touko was quiet for a moment, then she blushed and turned away. "Like I was saying. It doesn't mean anything."

Natsumi shook her head. "I swear, Rika, if you do not shut up I _will_ kick you out of this tent-"

"Hey, no hard feelings, dear. I mean, if you're going to be upset with anyone, it should be Aki or Touko, obviously. I mean, you are after the same man, after all-"

"Rika..." Natsumi seethed. Rika shrunk back a bit and laughed nervously.

"Um... never mind. But Touko, don't think that no one saw you kiss Endou after the Dark Emperors match..."

Aki made a weird sound, and everyone started at her. She went a whole new shade of pink and covered her mouth.

"...hiccups?" she said.

"It was on the cheek!" Touko cried. "It was a friendly gesture!"

"A little too friendly if you ask me!" Rika laughed.

Haruna sighed. This sort of thing happened a lot. Someone would get close to the subject of boys, and Rika would jump on the chance to bug those three about Endou. At first, it was kind of funny to watch them get all defensive. But after a while, Haruna got real tired of hearing the same arguments over and over again. Of course no one was going to admit that she liked Endou – but they all knew it, of course. It's just that you don't go around admitting things when your closest friends are crushing on the same guy. And every time this would happen, Haruna would just sit and listen. She never got too involved. The other girls got so involved, the seemed to forget about her. And not once did any of them ask how Haruna felt about any boys...

"Okay, fine! Next time you make a good pass I'll just french kiss you right then and there!" Touko yelled. Haruna, who had completely zoned out for a bit, was about to question what was going on, but from past experiences she knew it was better not to ask.

"Go ahead! And you can even pretend I'm Endou!" Rika yelled back. Aki and Natsumi were also glaring at each other for some reason. Haruna sighed.

"Hey, can we please talk about something else?" she said. Rika and Touko stopped yelling, and Rika slapped her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry Haruna! I totally forgot about you!" she said. "You don't like Endou too, do you?"

"What? N-no, of course not!" Haruna shook her head and held up her arms. "It's just that you are all fighting again, and well..."

Touko sighed. "You're right. This is pretty stupid..." Aki and Natsumi stopped glaring at each other.

"Yeah..." Aki said. Natsumi nodded.

"Now you should all get to bed. Seriously." Natsumi said. "It's probably close to midnight now."

"Okay. Well, goodnight." Touko said.

"Good night." Aki said.

"Night!" Haruna said. She snuggled into her sleeping bag again and smiled. Finally, that night's argument was finished. But still... it would have been nice if they could have talked about her for once... not that she wanted anyone to know who she liked or anything.. _ Ack_! Haruna thought. _These stupid feelings are so confusing._

"Aw, come on... don't go to bed yet..." Rika said. But she noticed that everyone else was drifting off to sleep, and she sighed and crawled into her sleeping bag.

All was quiet for quite a while, and Haruna was on the verge of falling asleep. Just as her eyes started to get really heavy, someone poked her in the shoulder.

"What?" She groaned. "I was almost asleep."

"Sorry, sorry." Rika said. "I just wanted to know... who _do_ you like, Haruna?"

"Rika, go to sleep!" Natsumi said.

"But I want to know!" Rika said. "All this Endou talk gets boring really fast. But our little Haruna hasn't said anything about-"

"Rika, please..." Aki said. "We just want to sleep."

"Maybe she doesn't like anyone." Touko said. She opened her eyes and looked at Haruna. "Right?"

"Well, er..." Haruna started. "I do-"

"See?" Rika laughed. Touko shook her head.

"Great." she sighed and flopped her head back down on her pillow. "Just great."

"I'm sorry, Touko..." Haruna said. Touko mumbled something into her pillow, but Haruna didn't understand her.

"Come on, Haruna!" Rika said. She slid over to Haruna's sleeping bag and put her arm around her shoulder. "I want to know details!"

"But I don't really want to-"

"I swear. If you don't shut up _someone_ is going to get hurt." Natsumi said. She pointed at Rika, who removed her arm from Haruna's shoulders and waved at Natsumi.

"Oh come on. It's not like you don't want to know."

"I don't." Natsumi said. "Now leave Haruna alone and get back to your sleeping bag, or I _will_ get Coach."

Aki, however, twiddled her fingers and looked down at her pillow. "Well... uh... now that you mention it... I kinda want to know." She noticed Haruna's distressed expression and quickly held up her hands. "But uh... if you don't want to tell us that's really okay."

"Yeah! Listen to your senior manager!" Rika said. "A name's all we want, really."

Haruna sighed. She had that weird feeling again... She wanted to tell them, but at the same time she didn't want everyone knowing who she liked. These were some of her best friends... but still. For once, the conversation was about her, and she didn't find it all that great anymore...

"Of course, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Aki said. "But it would be nice..."

"It would probably shut me up," Rika said, although it was directed more at Natsumi. The red haired girl rolled her eyes. _It would probably work..._ Haruna thought. _And I could sleep. But then again..._

"Okay, okay..." Haruna said. She took a deep breath. For some reason, she felt way more nervous than she thought she should, and when she opened her mouth to speak nothing came out at first. "It's..."

Rika nudged her arm. "Go on..."

Haruna swallowed. This was it... "... G-Gouenji." After she said his name, she felt her face get really hot. She looked down at her sleeping bag as Rika gasped a bit too loud.

"Gouenji, eh?" Touko, who now had her head propped up with her hands and her elbows resting on her pillow, smiled. "I never would have thought."

"Aw, Haruna," Aki said. "That's so cute!"

Natsumi seemed to be a little more interested in the conversation than sleeping at this point. "Haruna likes Gouenji..." she said to no one in particular. "Since when?"

Haruna shrugged. "I'm not sure. Just one day... you all were talking about Endou and I just got thinking about who I liked and..." she sighed. "These stupid feelings are so weird."

"Oh, I know!" Aki said. "When I first realized that I liked Endou I-" she caught herself and covered her mouth. Rika snickered and Touko looked away. "Ahem... back to Haruna and Gouenji..."

"Of course!" Rika said. "Aw, our junior manager has a crush on the ace striker!" she went on. "Despite the huge age gap-"

"He's a year older than her, Rika." Touko said.

"...You're ruining this for me." Rika said. She cleared her throat and threw her arms in the air. "Anyway, we need to do something about you two! This could be the year's hottest couple, and every Raimon fan would-"

"No!" Haruna said. "You can't tell him!"

"And why not?" Rika asked.

"Because she said so." Natsumi said. "Honestly, Rika. You don't need to go around and mess with other people's business."

"But come on, I could totally get these two hooked up." Rika said. Haruna shook her head.

"Please, don't. I'd rather keep this secret."

"Fine. Be boring." Rika said.

Touko sighed. "You know, just because you don't have a problem with letting everyone know who you like doesn't mean everyone else is like that."

Rika shrugged. "Hey. It's just that if she wants a chance with him, she's going to have to speak up. I mean, Gouenji's a pretty popular guy with the ladies..."

Haruna sighed. "Don't remind me..." Aki moved over and patted her friend on the back.

"Hey, it's okay." she said. "I'm sure he'd rather date one of his friends than a total stranger."

"But the problem is that we're not really friends." Haruna said. "I mean, we hardly ever talk outside of practice and even if we did... Ugh, I don't even know why I like him! It doesn't make any sense."

"Love works in strange ways," Touko offered. "I mean, it took me forever to figure out why I like End-"she caught herself a little better than Aki had, but she still got a weird look from Natsumi.

"I still think your best bet is to talk to him about it." Rika said. "Who knows? He might feel the same way about you."

"I doubt it." Haruna frowned. "And... the weird thing is that I don't really know if I would want to date him... It would just feel weird. Plus, I don't know what Yuuto would think..."

"Don't worry about him!" Aki said. "If Kidou loves you, he'd want you to be happy. So even thought he might be... well... what I'm trying to say is that-"

"If he has a problem with it, then tough." Natsumi said. She smiled at Haruna.

Haruna smiled back. "Thanks," she said. "But still... I'm not sure about this whole thing..."

"No one's saying you have to do anything right now." Touko said. Aki nodded.

"Yeah. You should think it over a bit more. But whatever happens, we'll be here to help!"

"But mostly me! Because you know, I _am_ an expert when it comes to relationships." Rika smiled.

"Sure. Just look where you got with Ichinose." Natsumi said.

Haruna, Touko, and Aki laughed as Natsumi and Rika bickered with each other. Times like these made Haruna really glad that she had them as friends.

She then remembered that it was her turn to double check that the campfire was extinguished that night, so she put on her slippers and headed out the tent.

"I'll be right back," Haruna said. She unzipped the tent's door and crawled outside.

-.-.-

"Come on, one more hand!" Ichinose said. He and several other members of the Raimon Eleven were sitting around, playing cards. "All or nothing, what do you say?" he smiled and raised an eyebrow. The boys were making placing bets on the games, and so far the pot was full of snacks, bills, and in Kidou's case, his goggles. So far, Ichinose was having the best luck with the cards.

Someoka threw his hand of cards on the floor. "I'm done. I got nothin' left."

"Yeah, same here." Kidou said. He rubbed his eyes. "Can I have my goggles back, please?"

Ichinose shook his head and smiled. "If you want 'em, you're going to have to win 'em back."

Kidou sighed.

"Anyway, I can understand why you're afraid of going again." Ichinose said. "Americans can play a mean game of Poker." he fist-bumped Domon, who smiled.

"Ah, whatever!" Someoka said. "Fubuki, let me borrow some of your chips."

"What?" Fubuki said, but before he could do anything Someoka snatched a bag of chips from his hand and tossed them into the pot. "Hey!"

"Awesome, Someoka's in." Ichinose said. "Who else? Endou? Gouenji?" he grabbed Kidou's goggles out of the pot and slipped them on his head, and Kidou frowned at him.

"You bet!" Endou said. He looked over at Gouenji, who was sitting right next to him. "What about you?"

Gouenji shook his head and stood up. "Nah. You guys can go without me. I'm gonna go get some air."

"This late?" Kidou asked. Gouenji just shrugged.

"There's a lot on my mind." he said. With that, he left the group of card players and headed off the bus. Once he was outside, Gouenji took a deep breath and smiled. The air out here was so crisp and clear, unlike most places around. A slight breeze disturbed the leaves on some trees, and Gouenji slipped his hands into his pockets. He started to wander around, not going anywhere in particular. It was pretty quiet outside, and after a bit Gouenji could hear a noise. It sounded like someone talking...

"...I'd rather keep this secret." he heard. The voice was pretty muffled, and Gouenji looked around, trying to figure out the source of the voice. He noticed the girls' tent, and he realized that it must have come from there. Curious to see what they were talking about, Gouenji neared the tent, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Fine. Be boring." another one – probably Rika, it sounded like – said. Gouenji raised an eyebrow.

"You know, just because you don't have a problem with letting everyone know who you like..." It sounded like Touko this time. So, this was about boys... Gouenji knew that girls were pretty secretive of their crushes – even young Yuuka had one at one point – and it was wrong to listen to them. And besides, he wasn't really the spying type. He just about stood up to leave, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he stayed where he was to listen.

Rika was talking again. "...she's going to have to speak up. I mean, Gouenji's a pretty popular guy with the ladies..."

Gouenji made a noise, and he quickly shook his head. So they were talking about him... but the real question was who. He could rule out Rika, obviously. And it didn't sound like they were talking to Touko, either. Gouenji heard a sigh. _It must be her, then_. Gouenji thought.

"Don't remind me..." the girl said. Gouenji was surprised to hear that it was Haruna. Soon after her, Aki started talking, and Gouenji took a few steps away from the tent. By the sound of things it sounded like Haruna liked him, but he couldn't be so sure yet. He neared the tent again and crouched down.

"...and even if we did... Ugh, I don't even know why I like him! It doesn't make any sense." Haruna said again. She sounded a bit upset, Gouenji noticed. He sighed. Yep. It was definitely Haruna.

Not that that was bad or anything. But... _Haruna?_ Gouenji never really talked to her much, and to be honest she never seemed like the type that would have crushes on people... Then again, he never thought that Yuuka would like boys, and she surprised him with that. But Haruna seemed really nice from what he'd seen, and she was kind of cute...

What was he thinking? Haruna was his best friend's sister. Just thinking about liking her like that was kind of... weird. He wasn't sure why, though. Maybe because she reminded him of Yuuka, or maybe because he was afraid of what Kidou would do if he found out about that. Either way, Gouenji stood up and brushed himself off. That was enough spying for one night. He headed of in another random direction, and after a while he found himself by the campfire. The pit still had a few red hot coals left, and they were slowly dying down. Gouenji sat down on a log and watched as the coals glowed. It was kind of relaxing...

There was more noise coming from the girl's tent, and Gouenji saw someone crawl out of the door. He couldn't tell who she was in the dark, but as she got closer the light from the campfire lit up her face.

"Oh, Haruna." Gouenji said. The blue haired manager smiled and walked up to the fire pit. "Why are you out here?"

"Uh, I'm just checking the fire. You know, making sure that's it's going down." Haruna said. "What about you?"

Gouenji shrugged. "I just needed some air. It's a nice night, so it would be a shame if nobody enjoyed it..."

Haruna sat down on a log next to Gouenji and nodded. "Yeah, it is pretty nice out..."

Gouenji looked down at her. She was staring at the fire, and even though it was a bit hard to tell from the orange light from the fire, he thought her cheeks were pink. He sighed.

Haruna looked up at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, n-no." Gouenji said. He quickly looked away. He couldn't just stare at her like that. She'd think something was up, and that maybe he knew something that he wasn't supposed to know and...

_Jeeze, Gouenji. Calm down._ He thought. _Just... act normal._

Haruna smiled. "Oh, that's good." she said. Another breeze came by, and Haruna crossed her arms and shivered. "It's kinda cold..."

Gouenji noticed she was only wearing pajama pants and a short sleeved shirt, while he still had his sweatpants and jacket on. He took his jacket off and held it out to her. She stared at it and then looked up at Gouenji. "Here, take it."

"A-are you sure?" Haruna asked.

"It's fine." Gouenji said. Haruna nodded and put the jacket on.

"Thank you," she said. Gouenji smiled.

"No problem." he said. All was good until he looked back down at Haruna, and this time there was no mistaking her blushing. Gouenji sighed inwardly. _Again, Gouenji! _He thought._ You can't lead her on like this. Well, it's not like giving a girl your jacket is really leading them on, but you never know with girls... _He really needed to stop thinking.

"So how long have you been out here?" Haruna asked. She rolled up the jacket sleeves a bit, because it was a bit too big on her. It looked really cute on her and -

There were those thoughts again. For some reason, thinking of Haruna like that still seemed kind of weird... and he still wasn't sure why. But he was beginning to think that it wasn't because of Kidou.

"Eh, a while." Gouenji said. "Not that long." There were fewer live coals now, and it was slowly getting darker. "So uh... what's that tent thing like, anyway?"

"It's kinda weird still." Haruna smiled. "But it is really cozy in there." she laughed. "And it does get kind of noisy sometimes."

"I know." Gouenji said. Haruna was quiet, and Gouenji wondered why for a moment until he realized what he said. Oh crap.

"How could you hear from all the way over here?" Haruna asked. Gouenji swallowed and cleared his throat.

"Um... the wind carried the sound over." he lied. Haruna raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, right." she said. Her voice sounded a bit worried, and Gouenji sighed.

"Okay, okay. I was walking around and...I heard you girls talking so I-" he felt really bad about this, now. "uh, I kind of listened to you for a bit."

Haruna took a deep breath. "Oh." That was all she said, nothing else. She stayed quiet and just stared at the coals.

Gouenji was quiet, too. This wasn't good... maybe Haruna would figure out that he had heard and -

Oh boy.

"...how much did you hear?" Haruna finally said after a long silence. Great, just the question Gouenji was dreading.

"Not a whole lot," he said. But lying wasn't going to get him anywhere here... "Uh, just... just that you... uh."

Haruna seemed to get it. Her face looked so much more red now, and Gouenji wasn't sure if it was the lighting or blushing or anger. Maybe a mixture of all three.

"So... you know?" she asked. She kept her eyes glued to the coals, and so did Gouenji.

"Yeah." he said. Haruna was quiet again, and this time Gouenji couldn't stand it.

Haruna gave a shaky sigh. "I guess you probably think I'm weird or something now." she said. "But I understand, because really, the whole thing is stupid and all."

"You're not weird, Haruna. And it's not stupid." Gouenji said. "I mean, yeah, it is a bit odd, but it's not your fault at all."

"I know..." Haruna sniffed, and Gouenji looked down at her and saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry..." Gouenji said. Haruna wiped her eyes and sniffed again.

"I'm sorry... I'm..." Haruna said. Gouenji moved closer to her and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Calm down," he said.

Haruna looked like she was trying hard not to cry. She took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes again. "It's just... this whole situation is really confusing for me, and you weren't even supposed to know, and... and even though you know now you're being so nice about it and..." she took some more breaths. "And this is really stupid and I don't know why I'm getting upset. I hate being a girl sometimes..." Out of nowhere, she reached over and hugged Gouenji. At first he was a bit shocked, but soon he hugged her back. "You're just so nice! And... and..." she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"It's okay, Haruna." Gouenji said. The two of them sat there, just hugging each other. And Gouenji kind of liked it. He got to thinking... maybe he felt weird about Haruna not because of Yuuka, either. Maybe it was because...

Did he like Haruna back?

"I just... I just want to say thanks." Haruna said. "You know, for not freaking out about this."

_Oh, if only you knew..._ Gouenji thought. But he just smiled. "I don't see why I would. I mean, I kind of..." he didn't finish the sentence, but Haruna smiled back.

"Well... it's getting late." she said. "Maybe we should head to bed..."

Gouenji nodded. They both stood up, and Haruna looked down at the too big jacket. "Do you want-"

"No, it's okay." Gouenji said. "I can wait until morning."

Haruna smiled and gave him one more quick hug. "Thank you again. Good night, Gouenji." she said. She was just about to turn to leave for the tent, but before she did Gouenji grabbed her hand and kissed her on the cheek. Haruna's face went a whole new shade of pink, and after Gouenji did that, he felt a tingly feeling in his stomach. All the thoughts and feelings he had about her felt so much better now somehow, and that made him happy.

"Good night, Haruna."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**Here's Gouenji x Haruna! This turned out waaaay longer than I thought it would! I tried to make it really cute, and I hope I did a good job! I'm not sure what I feel about the ending... I hope you guys enjoy it! :D **_

_**This is for **__**shef01animetizeGoneM.I.A**__**and**__**NaijiriTwinsAnimaniacs021. I really hope you like it, Shef! I know I'm going to have to write for this pair again :)**_

_**Icee Suicune **_

_**Up Next: Ichinose x Rika **_


	6. Kazemaru and Haruna

"So I guess that's practice for today..." Endou said. He looked around the clubhouse and frowned. There were a whole four people in the room: Kazemaru, Aki, Handa, and himself. Endou sighed. "Uh... I guess we'll get changed then."

Aki nodded and said her goodbyes. "See you tomorrow!" she said, and she then left the boys to change.

"I wonder where everyone was today," Handa asked. Kazemaru shrugged.

"Maybe the flu? I know that's what Gouenji and Natsumi have." he said.

"Oh well. At least we got some practice in!" Endou said.

They continued to change until the door flew open. Haruna stood there in tears, and after she saw a shirtless Kazemaru and Handa, (and Endou just in his boxers) her face grew even more red and she covered her eyes.

"Uh... Aki's not here, is she?" Haruna sniffed.

"Nope..." Endou said. Haruna bowed and ran out of the clubhouse, slamming the door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Handa asked.

Kazemaru slipped his shirt back on and headed for the door. "I'm going to check on her," he said.

Handa laughed. "Ohh, something's going on with those two!" Kazemaru ignored him and hurried outside to catch up with Haruna. She wasn't too far away, though, because he found her sitting up against the clubhouse wall with her face buried in her hands. Kazemaru looked down at her, a worried expression on his face. In all honesty, he had no idea what he should do. Going and checking on her seemed like the right thing to do, but now that he was out there...

Kazemaru shook his head. He sat down next to Haruna. "Uh, hey, Haruna. What's wrong?" So far, so good...

Haruna sniffed and wiped away some tears. "Um... it's nothing."

Kazemaru raised an eyebrow. "It sure doesn't seem like nothing."

Haruna was silent. Well, aside from her sobs.

"I'm sure that if you talked about it, you'd feel better." Kazemaru said. Woah... when did he learn to say stuff like that? He felt a lot like a therapist right now.

Haruna wiped her eyes and sighed. "Me... me and Yuuto got into a fight. It's fine. Really." she smiled.

"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Kazemaru asked.

"It's really silly... I just said something about the whole no-contact thing and things just got out of hand." Haruna said. "But he was really mad... Maybe he hates me." Then she started to cry harder than before.

Kazemaru put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, don't say that. He doesn't hate you. I fight with my little brother all the time." _Hey, this whole comforting thing was turning out to be really easy..._ Kazemaru thought.

Haruna looked up at him. "I didn't know you had a brother,"

Kazemaru smiled. "Yeah, I do. And I bet I know how Kidou feels. You should go and talk to him. I'm sure he feels about about this too."

"I bet not." Haruna sulked. Kazemaru gave her a look. "But uh... I guess it couldn't hurt to try." she said.

"Trust me, you'll both feel a lot better when you talk it over. All siblings go through fights. Well, at least I do." Kazemaru laughed.

Haruna smiled and hugged Kazemaru back. "Thank you, Kazemaru. I feel a lot better now." she stood up and wiped her eyes again. "I'm going to find Onii-chan. I'll see you tomorrow." she smiled and waved, then she was gone.

Kazemaru smiled too and got up to return to the clubhouse. He tried to open the door, but something was blocking it... Kazemaru pushed against the door and all of a sudden it flew open, and Kazemaru stumbled in. Endou and Handa were sitting on the floor, looking quite guilty. Kazemaru frowned.

"Wait, were you guys listening?" he said. Endou smiled sheepishly and Handa rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh... no?" Endou said. Kazemaru glared at him. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry but... it was Handa's idea!"

"What? No! It was you!" Handa said. The two started to bicker and Kazemaru sighed.

"Guys, stop. It's fine. Let's just finish changing so we can go." he said. Endou and Handa nodded and got up from the floor. Endou went to get his shoes on, and Handa and Kazemaru stood by their lockers.

"I didn't know you had a brother, Kazemaru." Handa said as he threw his jersey in his locker.

Kazemaru pulled his shirt on and smiled. "I don't."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**This is just a quick thing I wrote during school a few days ago, and I thought I'd put it up :3 I don't think it's all that romantic... just a friend comforting another friend :D **_

_**Ichinose x Rika will be up later tonight :D**_

_**Icee Suicune ^^**_


	7. Ichinose x Rika

Finally, the Raimon Eleven had beaten Aliea Academy and ensured Japan's safety. Everyone was happy, and hey, the team had even gotten a little bit famous. Not everyone wins the Football Frontier _and_ takes down a bunch of aliens. Everything was going great for them.

Well, almost everything.

Rika sighed. Everyone was in the Inazuma Caravan, making their way back to Raimon town. They would all be leaving for their homes in a few days, thus their time together was drawing to a close. Rika had made so many friends, namely Touko and the managers, and she had even found the love of her life. The only problem with that is that he didn't feel the same way about her... but Rika was sure she could change that. The real problem is that she had no idea when she would see her friends again – for all she knew, this could be the last time together.

She looked over to Touko, who was sitting next to her. The pink haired girl was leaning forward in her seat, talking to Tsunami. The two were laughing over something, and Rika tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a sec." Touko held up a finger to Rika and continued her conversation with Tsunami. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rika grabbed the bottom of Touko's shirt and yanked on it, causing the poor girl to fall back into her seat. Touko hit her head in the process, and she gave Rika a hostile-looking glare. "What was that for?"

Rika crossed her arms. "Excuse me for wanting to talk to my friend about something." she said. Tsunami leaned over the back of his seat.

"You can't just interrupt people, Rika!" he said.

"I think this is slightly more important than whatever you two were talking about." Rika said. Tsunami frowned and faced forward again.

"Whatever." he said. Touko continued to glare at Rika.

"Thanks," she said. "Now what was so important that you just _had_ to talk to me right now?"

Rika frowned and looked down at her shoes. "Well, I was just thinking... You know how we're all going home after this?"

Touko nodded.

"It's just... is this going to be the end?" Rika asked. Touko raised an eyebrow.

"Of course it's going to be the end," she said. "I mean, there's not really anything left to do."

"I don't mean that." Rika said. "I know that the whole alien thing is done. I'm wondering about us, the team. Is this the end for us?"

"Why would it be?" Touko said. "Sure, we're not all going to be a team like this, but we're all friends, and friends never let each other go. We'll all see each other again, I'm sure of it." she smiled at Rika, who just sighed.

"You say that now... but is that really going to happen?" Rika asked. "With me in Osaka, Fubuki in Hokkaido, Tsunami in Okinawa, and a bunch of people in Raimon... Especially the people in Raimon..."

"This is about Ichinose, isn't it?" Touko asked.

Rika blushed and shook her head. "No, of course not! I-I mean you and the managers and..." Touko gave her that look again, and Rika sighed. "Okay, yeah. It's Ichinose."

"You know he doesn't like you like that, Rika." Touko reminded her. Of course Rika knew. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah... but until he comes out and says it, I still have a chance with him!" she said. Touko shook her head. "Oh, come on. I mean, what if someone told you that Tsunami didn't like you? Would you just-"

"What did you say?" Touko cried. She covered Rika's mouth. "I do _not_ like... him!" she motioned to the seat in front of her, trying to make sure that Tsunami didn't hear any of this.

"Yeah. Sure." Rika said. "Anyway, would you take their word for it?"

"Rika... I thought it was pretty obvious that he didn't like you." Touko said. "I mean..."

"He's just shy." Rika said.

"Really shy, if you ask me." Touko scoffed. Rika chose to ignore her, and she slumped down in her seat. What she really wanted was some reassurance that she'd see Ichinose again... and not just him. She sincerely wanted to see everyone again, but no one seemed to know if they would.

Coach Hitomiko made her way to the front of the bus. She cleared her throat to get the attention of the team, and she crossed her arms neatly across her chest. "We're going to stop to get fuel for the bus, so you all have a few minutes to stretch, use the restrooms, whatever. Just be back in half an hour, okay?"

Everyone nodded, and when Coach opened the doors to the bus, almost everyone made their way out. Rika and Touko stayed behind; Rika because she was still in deep though, and Touko because she had a few words for Rika.

"Please, when everyone gets back, don't say anything else about... him, okay?" Touko said. Rika glanced over at her.

"Why not? I thought you didn't like him." she said. Touko let out a breath and stood up.

"Fine... I do, okay? Just don't you _dare_ let anyone find out." Touko said. She made her way to the isle, and she stared down at Rika. She nodded, and with that Touko made her way off the bus.

Rika, now alone on the bus, decided that she should leave too. She got off the bus and looked around outside. There was a small field by the fuel station, so a few of the guys were kicking around a ball out there. Some had gone to the restrooms, and some had just wandered off into small groups. Rika saw Touko over with Tsunami and Fubuki, and she rolled her eyes.

She continued to look around, when she noticed Ichinose and Domon sitting on a bench. Rika was just about to run over there when she remembered what Touko had said. Ichinose didn't like her... so why even bother any more? But this could be the last time she'd see him in a while...

Rika shook her head and walked over to the two. Domon noticed her first, and he nudged Ichinose on the arm. He turned around to look at her, and he got that same weird expression on his face. It was a cross between surprised and nervous – but Rika thought it was adorable. Of course, she thought everything about him was cute...

"Well if it isn't Rika!" Domon said. "You know, he was _just _gonna say something to you..."

"Wait, what?" Ichinose exclaimed. Rika raised any eyebrow, and Ichinose hit Domon on his arm. "No I was not!"

"Aw, c'mon!" Domon said. He and Ichinose began to argue about something, and Rika sighed and shook her head.

"Knock it off, you two," she said. Ichinose and Domon quickly fell silent, and Domon raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" he said. "It's not like you to say that."

"Yes it is," Ichinose said. Domon glared at him. "Uh... I think he meant to say something about your... tone of voice?"

Rika shrugged. "I was just thinking. These are our last days together, and I just thought... well, I don't really want to spend them listening to people fight! I mean, you two have plenty of time to do that, but I..."

"You're right," Ichinose said. "This is kind of the end, isn't it?"

Rika sighed again. "Don't remind me." she watched as Domon stood up and started walking over to where some of the others were playing a makeshift game of soccer.

"So, uh... I'm going to go over there... and you two can just... yeah." and with that, he ran over to the group, leaving Ichinose and Rika alone. Normally, Rika would be loving this moment. But since she got back to thinking about the end and all that... it wasn't so great anymore.

Ichinose stood up too, and he motioned for Rika to come closer. "Uh, Rika? I need to talk with you."

She was just about to question him until she decided that she shouldn't. Instead, she nodded and followed Ichinose, who had started walking down a sidewalk. The two of them walked in silence for a while, until they were a good distance away from everyone else. They had ended up by a tree, and Ichinose sighed and leaned his back against it.

"So, what is it?" Rika asked. She stood in front of Ichinose and waited for an answer.

Instead, Ichinose sighed.

"You do that way too much." Rika said.

"Do what?" Ichinose asked.

"You sigh a lot." Rika said. "It almost seems like you're nervous about something.".

"Well... I sort of am." Ichinose said. He was about to sigh again, but he glanced at Rika and stopped. He kept looking down at his shoes, too. "I guess I should just tell you and you know... get it over with."

"Yeah, you should," Rika said, crossing her arms. "Because I'm getting tired of waiting. You're not going to get me all worked up about nothing, are you?"

Ichinose shook his head. "Well, I hope not..." he glanced up and the sky and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing..."

Rika rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Don't be such a drama queen about it!" she was starting to feel funny inside... She felt really anxious and it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach. Ichinose did have that effect on her, but this was just... different.

"You were saying that this could be the last time that we all see each other, right? Well, Domon and I were... talking about the same thing. I don't _want_ this to be the last time. I've made too many good friends on this trip, and it would be too hard to let them go. Tsunami, Fubuki... you." Ichinose looked her in the eye and...

Rika swore she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Especially you... Rika, I want to see you again." he said.

"I want to see you again too." Rika said. _Don't get your hopes up..._ she thought. _He probably doesn't mean it like that._ But the way he said it and the way he looked at her... Rika knew it was different. "I mean, we're good friends, right?"

"Yeah..." Ichinose said. He was quiet for a bit, then he opened his mouth to speak again. "But... I don't want it to be like that."

"Wha..?" Rika was about to say something, but Ichinose cut her off.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. What I'm trying to say is..." he gave a frustrated sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know how to say it."

"That's okay," Rika said. She was about to speak – _again –_ and Ichinose cut her off –_ again. _This whole getting cut off thing was really starting to get on Rika's nerves... until she realized what Ichinose was doing.

He reached out and cupped her face in his hands and leaned forward and kissed her.

Ichinose kissed _her._

Rika almost couldn't believe what was happening.She felt her legs wobble a bit, and she thought she was going to pass out. But Ichinose broke the kiss and grabbed her hands. Rika steadied herself and looked up at Ichinose.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"Rika, I want to see you again because... because I love you." Ichinose said. He held his arms out for a hug, but he didn't get quite what he expected.

"Oh Darling!" Rika cried. She practically tackled the poor boy and almost knocked him to the ground. "You don't know how much this means to me! Oh, I knew that we'd end up together and -"

Ichinose smiled and hugged her back and let her continue on with her rambling for a while, until he realized something. He grabbed Rika's arm and tried to pull her along with him.

"What's wrong?" Rika asked.

"The bus..." Ichinose said. "It... we gotta get back!" he grabbed her hand, and together they ran back to the rest of the group. All the way, Rika smiled.

This was going to be a great bus ride home.

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**And here's IchiRika! This was requested by Shouko-Marigold, and I think Fudou likes it too :D **_

_**I'm sorry this is so late. First I was out of town a lot, some family members were sick... there was just a lot going on these past few days and I wasn't focusing on fanfiction much. (I really need to stop promising dates... OTL) Anyway there was a bit of a writer's block, too. But I think I'm back on track now, so hopefully things will go smoothly and I can update much more :D **_

_**Pfft there have been a lot of couple requests, so how about some friendship ones? One can only handle so much romance xD (I'm kidding, request whatever you want. :P) And ideas are always welcome, too :D (Why does this just sound like a big excuse for me being lazy... OTL)**_

_**Anyway I should end this super long Author's Note. Next up is Handa x Max (my first yaoi pairing!) and thank you all for the reviews :D **_

_**Icee Suicune**_


	8. Handa x Max

Handa had been friends with Max for as long as he could remember.

It all started back in kindergarten, on the first day of school. Handa and his mother had just waked into the school building and into his classroom, and Handa remembered clinging onto his mother's leg, not wanting her to leave.

"Now now, Shinichi, you should go over there and play with the other boys." his mother had said. She gave her son a gentle push in the direction of a group of boys, but Handa shook his head and ran right back to her.

"I don't want you to leave!" Handa cried. He looked up at his mother, who sighed. She crouched down to his level and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll come back later today," she reassured him. Handa sniffed in return.

"You promise?" he asked. His mother smiled and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Of course I will," she said. Her expression changed, and she smiled and pointed behind Handa. He turned around to see a boy walking up to him. He had a pink and blue cat hat that seemed a bit too big for his head, and he was holding a little soccer ball. "Look Shinichi, maybe that boy wants to play."

The boy smiled at Handa and readjusted his hat, which was falling over his eyes. "Hi," he said, and he flashed another grin, and Handa noticed that his front teeth were missing.

"Hi," Handa said. "What's your name?"

"You can call me Max! What about you?"

"I-I'm Shinichi," Handa said. Max held out the soccer ball to Handa, who just stared at it.

"Do you like soccer?" Max asked. "Because I love it! My dad and me play soccer all the time."

Handa smiled. "Yeah, I love soccer too!"

"Cool! Let's go play, then!" Max grabbed Handa's arm and dragged him over to an empty play area. The two started to kick the ball back and forth, and Handa was having such a great time that he didn't even care when his mother left. He and Max played up until snack time, when they sat next to each other.

"Are we friends now?" Handa asked. Max, who was munching on a cookie, nodded.

"I think so," he took another bite of his cookie. "Well, if you want to be."

Handa smiled and nodded. "Of course I do!" he said. And after that conversation, they did become friends. All through elementary school, the two of them became as close as brothers. They played soccer at recess, they spent time at each others houses, and they did all the things that best friends did. Handa felt great about their friendship, but by the time they entered junior high, something strange happened.

It was probably a week before school started back up again, and Max was over at Handa's house like usual. The two spent a lot of time together over the summer, either at one house or another. After a full day of messing around outside and having fun, it was time to get to bed, and the two were up in Handa's room.

"Okay, you can go grab the extra bedsheets and set up on the floor." Handa said. He flopped down on his bed and sighed. "Man, I'm so tired..."

Max walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Do I have to?"

Handa lifted his head and gave Max a weird look. "Have to what?"

"Sleep on the floor," Max said. "I mean, it's really uncomfortable and I don't like it."

"But you always sleep on the floor when you're over here." Handa said. "I could switch with you if you wanted, though." he started to get up, but Max put a hand on his back.

"Uh... no, that's okay." he said. Handa raised an eyebrow and buried his face in his pillow.

"Well, then what are you going to do, then?" he mumbled. At this point, he was so tired he didn't really care who went where. But he was surprised when Max pushed him over to the side a bit and crawled up next to him.

"I want to sleep with you tonight, Shinichi-kun." he said.

Handa almost shot right out of bed. He turned to face his friend, and in return he shrugged. "I mean, if that's not a problem with you."

He just stared at Max blankly for a minute, then he felt his face grow hot. "Uh... that's fine. I guess."

Max smiled stretched. "Good. Now, I'm beat. Night!" he said, and he turned on his side to face Handa and closed his eyes.

Handa turned to lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Now what was this all about? Max wanting to sleep with him? It was really weird for him to act like that... _I guess that's fine._ He thought. _But... why?_ Handa glanced over at Max. His breathing had slowed down and he had a peaceful look on his face. There was no doubt he was fast asleep. Since it was summer, he wasn't wearing his cat hat to bed, revealing his messy orange hair. Suddenly, Handa had the urge to touch it, but he stopped himself.

_Don't make things any weirder, Handa. _He told himself. _Lots of people do this. So it's no big deal. Just go to bed._

Handa rolled back onto his stomach and closed his eyes, and within a minute or two he was asleep. But almost as soon as he had fallen asleep, something woke him up again. Sighing, he opened an eye to see what had disturbed his sleep, and to his surprise Max had wrapped his arms around him.

Handa tried to push away, but Max just held on to him tighter. "Hey, what are you doing?" he hissed, but Max didn't seem to hear him. Handa continued to try to wriggle out of Max's hold, but his efforts went in vain. "Seriously, Max, wake up."

But he didn't.

Handa frowned. Max's body was inches away from his own, and he could feel his breath on his neck. The closeness of it all made Handa feel really uncomfortable, but he realized it wasn't in a bad way.

_This is way too weird. Waaay too weird._ Handa thought. He felt his face burning up again, and he almost let out a noise when Max buried his face into his shoulder. _Friends don't do this kind of thing, but..._ Handa didn't really knew what to do. He couldn't get away, so he did what he thought felt right. He put his arms around Max and closed his eyes. He was probably blushing terribly right now, and being this close to someone was starting to make him feel extremely hot and uncomfortable. Max moved again, and this time he said something.

"Shinichi?" he said. Handa was surprised at the sound of his voice and looked down at him. He looked back up and smiled. "This is nice."

Handa found himself smiling back at him. "It... it is."

Max closed his eyes again and snuggled up against Handa. "I could get used to this."

"Um, me too," Handa sounded unsure about his response, and in all honesty he was. He was his best friend, and there they were, _cuddling_. And while it wasn't bad, well, it just...

Max pulled away a bit and frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing's wrong," Handa said. But Max didn't buy it. He let go of Handa and propped himself up.

"You know, if you think this is... weird or something, just tell me. Because-"

"No, uh..." Handa started. "I mean, yeah, it is kind of weird, but it's not... a bad kind of weird." he continued. "I like it and all, but... you're my best friend, so I don't know what to think about all of... this."

Max lied back down. "You know what I think? I think you're more than a friend to me."

"Really?" Handa said. Max nodded.

"I don't know about you, but that's what I think." he said. He closed his eyes again, and this time he didn't do anything else. Handa let his words sink in. _More than a friend? But what do I think?_ He looked down at Max again and pulled him into a hug. He smiled.

"Max... I think so too."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**Well here's chapter 8! This is the first time I've ever written yaoi, so this is probably one big huge failure. I can see a billion things wrong with it... like it's too short and I think it's kinda OOC and it **__**doesn't make sense... but hey, that's what practice is for, right? But I don't think I'm going to be writing more anytime soon because... yeah. Anyway, this was requested by **__**KiyoMeow1305, and I really hope she likes it despite the fail. :P**_

_**On a completely different note, I11 is almost over D: I don't think I can bring myself to watch the final episodes D: **_

_**And I also was informed that Haruna is the same height as me. Which is sad because I'm two years older than her OTL. **_

_**Anyway, enough of this stupid note! XD Up next is Ichinose x Aki! **_

_**Icee Suicune **_


	9. Ichinose x Aki

"And Kazuya passes to Asuka..."

"He get the pass... He shoots and..."

"Aki stops it! No goal for Asuka today!"

It was another regular day for Aki, Domon, and Ichinose. The three were in Ichinose's back yard, playing soccer like usual. Aki laughed as Domon grabbed his hair in frustration. She was getting better at playing goalkeeper, and it was all thanks to her best friends. She tossed the ball out to Ichinose and switched places with Domon.

"Aw, I hate being goalkeeper," Domon complained. "Why do we have to switch?"

"'Cause it's fair, Asuka," Ichinose said. He kicked the ball in the air and bounced it on his knee. "Besides, you're a terrible goalkeeper, so this should be easy!" he laughed and kicked the ball to Aki, who smiled and started to dribble up to the goal.

"Aki positions herself for a shot and... at the last minute she passes it to Kazuya!"

"What a beautiful play! Kazuya takes the pass and shoots!"

"...and Asuka doesn't even bother because he knows he can't catch that!" Domon said as he watched the ball fly into the net. He laughed and put his hands behind his head. "You see, that's why I'm a defender."

The three of them laughed and rotated again. They continued their pattern of playing and switching until the sun started to sink in the sky, casting a red hue over everything. Aki had grown quite tired by now, and even though the boys wouldn't admit it, they looked pretty beat too.

"Do you guys want to go in and get a drink?" Aki said. "Because I'm really thirsty."

Ichinose looked at Domon, who nodded. "Well, I'd hate to leave the field this early, but uh... she does have a good point."

Aki rolled her eyes. "Oh come on guys, don't be silly. You'll get sick if you don't stay hydrated." she ran up to Ichinose's back door and waited for her friends to catch up. Domon was close behind, but Ichinose kicked the ball around a few more times before heading up. They made their way inside, and Aki and Domon sat down at the kitchen table when Ichinose went to go grab some drinks.

"Oh man, today was really fun." Domon said. "I wish we could play like this all the time."

"Me too," Aki said. Some of her happiest memories were with those two – and soccer. Playing with them after school, watching their matches... Even though Aki wasn't as much of a soccer freak as the boys, she still loved the sport. "But summer break is coming up pretty soon, so we'll have a ton of time then."

Ichinose walked over to the table, carrying a big pitcher of lemonade and three glasses. "I can hardly wait for summer!" he said. He set the glasses down and filled them full of lemonade.

Domon grabbed his glass and downed half of it in one go. "Ah, this stuff is pretty good,"

Aki took a few sips of hers and nodded. "It really hits the spot,"

Ichinose sat down between the two and held up his glass. "Cheers!" The three tapped their glasses together, drank their lemonade, and started to chat. They discussed their plans for the summer, talked about school, friends, and all sorts of other stuff. They sun kept sinking in the sky, and soon it was twilight. The three friends had completely lost track of time, so when Domon looked out the window, he gasped.

"Jeeze, it's already gettin' dark? Man, I gotta get home..." he said. He quickly finished his eighth glass of lemonade and took his glass to the sink. "I'll see you guys on Monday!" And with that, he was out the door.

Ichinose chuckled after Domon slammed the door shut. "Oh Asuka." he pushed the pitcher over to Aki, and she noticed it was almost empty. "Do you want any more?"

Aki shook her head. "Oh, that's fine." she said. Ichinose poured the last of it in his glass and gulped it down. When he finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Do you want help with the dishes?"

Ichinose shook his head. "Nah. Just set 'em in the sink and I'll get them later." he said. He and Aki cleared off the table, and when they were done they sat back down. Ichinose yawned and stretched his arms. "What time is it?"

Aki glanced down at her watch. "It's around 10," she looked over at Ichinose, who was starting to look pretty tired. She giggled. "All that soccer must have worn you out."

Fighting back a yawn, Ichinose shook his head. "What? Nuh uh. I'm... fine."

Aki rolled her eyes. "Sure you are," she said.

"I could go all night if I wanted to," Ichinose said. "But... I'll stay in here and keep you company." he winked at Aki, and she slapped his arm.

"Kazuya!" she crossed her arms while Ichinose laughed.

"Hey, what did I say?" he said.

Aki shook her head. "You're just being dumb," she said. But right now, Aki was trying really hard not to blush. Lately, she had been feeling different around Ichinose. She'd always been teased about her best friend being a boy and that one day they'd fall in love or something, but Aki promised to herself that she was just friends with Ichinose, and nothing else. For a while, that was true. But things started to change, and now... she _was_ falling in love with him.

But she'd never let him know that.

Ichinose was pretty popular with the girls, and Aki knew that he probably liked some of them. And why even bother risking their friendship? She was scared to know what would happen if he didn't like her back, so she had no plans on telling him how she felt. Still, it would be nice if he did end up liking her back...

"Hello? Earth to Aki!"

Aki jumped back to reality when she noticed Ichinose waving his hand in her face. "Oh... sorry. What?"

"I asked if you want to go down to the basement to watch some TV," he said. He pointed behind him to the door.

"Sure," Aki said. They left the table and made their way downstairs. Aki had always liked Ichinose's basement. It had gray carpet and lots of comfy chairs and couches, and pressed against one wall was a large TV. Ichinose ran ahead and jumped on to the couch and laughed when he landed in a heap of cushions and pillows. Aki giggled too, and she walked over to the couch and sat down calmly. Ichinose was laying down, taking up most of the space on the couch, so there wasn't a whole lot of room for her. But that didn't bother her much.

"So, what do you want to watch?" Ichinose asked. He grabbed the remote off of a coffee table and started to flip through the channels. "Hm... news, cartoons... oh, soccer!"

"Of course," Aki said. Ichinose was always watching soccer. Not that Aki minded. She really liked watching it too, but when they did watch it together, Ichinose rarely talked. And lately Aki had wanted to talk with Ichinose a lot. "Who's playing now?"

"England and France," Ichinose said. He sighed and tossed the remote back on the table. "Boring."

"You know, you could always watch something else," Aki suggested. She looked over at Ichinose, and he shrugged.

"I could... but it's still soccer," he said. "And... Oh, look at that pass!" Ichinose suddenly shot up, knocking a few pillows to the ground as he did so. Aki turned her attention to the TV too, and she saw that a forward from France was making his way up to England's goal. He passed again and...

"Oh, he's crazy if he thinks he can make that..." Ichinose said.

"...He's going, he's going... and well folks, it looks like he _just_ missed it!" The announcer on the TV said. The camera cut to a shot of the forward, who was know on his knees, grabbing his hair.

"He looks like Asuka," Aki pointed out. She and Ichinose laughed at the similarities between him and their friend. They watched the game for a few more minutes, then it cut to a commercial.

"That would be so cool," Ichinose said. "You know, to be on TV, playing soccer."

"But some of your games have been on TV," Aki said.

"Those don't count. Who cares about local stuff? I mean world wide broadcasts! Everyone in the world could see me playing..." Ichinose smiled. "That's my dream. I want to get to the world level so everyone can see me doing what I love."

"You really do love soccer, don't you?" Aki said.

"More than anything in the world," Ichinose said.

Aki looked down at the floor. _I want you to love _me_ more than anything..._ she thought. She shook her head, though. That sounded ridiculous. She looked over at Ichinose, who was now sitting upright. He pushed some pillows over to the side and Aki swore she saw him inch closer to her.

"I can tell," Aki said. She laughed a little. "I mean, you talk about it enough."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ichinose asked.

Aki shrugged. "It's just... sometimes it's like that's all you care about."

Ichinose nudged her arm. "Hey, that's not true... I care about a lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well... I care about food. And water. And shelter."

"...seriously."

"But I do!"

Aki gave him a look, and Ichinose rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay. Don't be such a _girl_ about it. I... care about my family. And I care about Asuka, and I really care about you. Happy?"

"Yes," Aki said. She then realized what he just said. He said he really cared about her. _Really_. As in more than just regularly. So maybe-

It was probably just nothing. She really cared about him, even before she started to like him. They were really good friends, so why wouldn't he, anyway? But he didn't say that about Domon...

Aki then noticed Ichinose staring at her, and she realized that she must have been staring too. She felt her face burn and she quickly turned away. Ichinose did the same.

"Uh... I mean, I really care about Asuka too... it's just..." he stuttered.

"Oh, yeah... I know," Aki said. "So... um..."

Ichinose shifted in his seat, and Aki was positive that he was getting closer. "Um." he stretched his arm out and accidentally bumped Aki's hand. He quickly pulled away, and Aki moved her arm, too. "Uh.. s-sorry..."

"It's okay..." Aki said. She messed around with a pillow she had on her lap, and Ichinose was idly flipping through the channels. After a while he sighed and set the remote down. An infomercial about a fancy blender was playing, but Ichinose didn't seem to have his attention on that. He kept looking down at his hands, and a few times Aki caught him glancing over at her through the corner of her eye. She kept her focus on the TV, not daring to look over at him. What was he doing, anyway? She heard him shifting again, and this time Aki glanced over quickly. Ichinose kept getting closer to her, bit by bit.

But of course Aki didn't say anything. It... it wasn't a big deal. She kept her focus on the blender commercial, which was becoming harder and harder to focus on. After a while, Ichinose was right next to her, with maybe a few inches between him. Aki's heart was racing, and she swallowed hard.

Ichinose tapped her shoulder. "Uh... Aki?"

Aki turned to face him and was just about to ask what he wanted when he pressed his lips against hers. It took her by surprise; her eyes widened at first, but soon she relaxed. They held the kiss for a few seconds until Ichinose pulled away. Aki brought her hand to her lips, and Ichinose faced the other way. Aki saw that he was blushing, though, and she was too.

"Um... sorry," Ichinose said. "That was really dumb." he glanced over his shoulder and looked Aki, and she shook her head.

"No... that wasn't dumb at all." she said. Ichinose smiled a little bit, and Aki did too.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah... I liked it," Aki said. She felt her face burning again, and she noticed Ichinose blushed a bit more too. He tentatively reached over for her hand, and Aki reassured him by grabbing his. She could hardly believe what had just happened. Ichinose didn't look so sure either, since he kept looking down at their hands and touching his mouth.

Aki leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled. "You know what? I really care about you too."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**And here's Ichinose x Aki, requested by **__**kristinagm18! I hope you all like it :)**_

_**So Inazuma Eleven Go is coming out tomorrow, and I can't wait. (Even though I haven't watched the last episode of the original yet OTL) I hope it's going to be good. **_

_**I'm going to take a break from requests/romance requests because honestly, I'm all out of ideas. I felt like I've been reusing a lot of stuff, and I think it's time to take a little break. But I have plenty of friendship stuff planned! :D**_

_**Class finals are starting soon... wish me luck!**_

_**Icee Suicune ^^**_


	10. Kidou and Haruna

For Kidou Yuuto, this Sunday was just like any other. He woke up, got dressed, and headed down for breakfast with his father. They sat across from each other, ate, and chatted as usual. It was absolutely normal... until his father cleared his throat.

"Yuuto... you had a phone call this morning," he said.

Kidou glanced up from his plate and raised an eyebrow. "Really? From who?" he didn't know who would be calling this morning, with it being Mother's Day and all. Almost everyone he knew was going to be busy with plans that morning... except for him, of course. He hadn't celebrated in years due to the fact that his father was a single man, and his real mother had passed away.

His father wiped his mouth with a napkin before he spoke. "It was your sister, Otonashi."

"Haruna?" Kidou said. He knew for a fact that she should be busy that morning. After all, she was adopted by a couple, so she had a mother to celebrate with.

"Yes, her. She called and asked if you wanted to do something with her today." his father said. "I said you should be available, if that's okay with you."

"Oh, yes, that's more than okay." Kidou smiled. He always loved getting together with his sister. But it did seem odd that she'd want to get together today of all days.

"Well, once you finish up your breakfast you're free to leave." his father said. Kidou bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said. His father just waved a hand.

"You need to get together with her more. You... shouldn't have been separated." his father looked down at his plate. Kidou agreed with that, but he understood that he meant well. Haruna probably wouldn't have been happy living there.

He quickly finished breakfast and got up to leave. "Okay, I'll be going then. I'll see you in a while." he said. His father waved him goodbye, and Kidou was out the door.

-.-.-

"Are you sure it's okay for me to leave?" Haruna asked. She had planned on spending the whole day with her mother, but the night before she had an idea. "I mean... it's a day for you, Mom."

Haruna's mother grabbed her hand and smiled. "Honey, I think I can handle an hour or two on my own for today. Besides, it's a day for her too."

"O-okay..." Haruna said. She looked down at her shoes. "But I'm kind of nervous about going. I haven't been there in a long time..."

"Your brother will be going with you, right?" her mother said. "I think him being there will make it easier. I actually think it is a good idea for you both to go." she said. She walked over to a table and grabbed a small bouquet of flowers. She handed them off to her daughter and smiled. "Here."

Haruna grabbed them and smiled. "I hope she'll like them," she said. Her mother smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

"She'll love them, sweetheart." she said. As if on cue, someone started to knock at the front door. The two pulled away from each other and Haruna's mother looked down at her. "That must be him," she said. She gently pushed her daughter to the door, and Haruna looked back with a worried expression on her face. Her mother nodded for her to go on, and Haruna finally went and opened the door.

"Onii-chan!" she cried. She threw her arms around her brother, and Kidou returned the hug.

"Haruna," he said. He looked over her shoulder and nodded at her mother. "Good morning, Otonashi-san."

Haruna's mother smiled and waved at Kidou. "Good morning. Now, you two be careful when you go out."

Kidou nodded and Haruna turned around and waved at her mother. "I'll see you soon. We shouldn't be out long,"

"Take as much time as you need, honey." she waved back at the siblings by the door. "Now, you two should get going."

Haruna and Kidou waved one more time, and then they were gone. Once they left, Haruna's mother sighed and smiled.

"Those poor kids..."

-.-.-

Once they had left, Kidou let Haruna lead the way. After all, he didn't really know what this was all about. But Haruna had started walking off in one direction, and he decided it was best to follow and ask questions later. They spent most of the walk catching up with each other. Things between them had been much easier thanks to Kidou's transfer to Raimon, but even all the time spent at practice wasn't enough. Kidou's older brother instincts had kicked in, and he found himself asking her how school was going and if she was getting good grades. He had tried asking about boys, but Haruna just laughed and refused to answer (much to Kidou's dismay.).

"So, what are those flowers for?" Kidou asked. They had been walking for quite a while now, and Haruna still hadn't told him where they were going.

She looked down at the flowers in her hands and sighed. "Well..."

"Wait, I have a better question. Where are we going?" Kidou asked. "I mean, I'm going to have to know sooner or later."

Haruna nodded. "Alright. You know today's Mother's Day and all, right?"

Kidou nodded.

Before she continued, Haruna took a deep breath. "Well, I got to thinking last night, and I thought that we should go visit our... our mother today." she held up the flowers. "That's why I have these. I... didn't want to go alone, and I though you'd like to come too."

Kidou looked down at his sister. "Haruna..."

Haruna wiped her eyes and sniffed. "And we haven't been there in a really long time... so she must be lonely."

Kidou stopped Haruna and pulled her into a hug. They stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk, and he let her cry into his chest for a while. She dropped the flowers and hugged him so tightly that Kidou almost found it hard to breathe.

"You know, that's a great idea. Going to visit her and all." Kidou said. He found that his eyes were watering, too, and he fought to hold back tears. "We... we should visit her more."

Haruna pulled away and wiped her eyes. Kidou bent down and picked up the flowers for her, and she smiled when she took them. "Thanks. You know, I... I really miss them sometimes, and I hate how I can't remember them well."

"I feel that way too." Kidou admitted. "I can only remember one or two things about them, to be honest."

"That's a few more than I can recall," Haruna said. She frowned. "It's not fair. Why did it have to be us?" she asked.

Kidou just shook his head. "I don't know, Haruna. I used to wonder that all the time." She was right; it wasn't fair. That accident probably ruined many families, and one of them just happened to be theirs. But dwelling on it wouldn't change anything now. He grabbed Haruna's free hand and nodded in the direction they were going. "Let's go."

-.-.-

When they arrived at the cemetery, Haruna just couldn't make herself walk through the big metal gates leading to it. She had told herself she'd be fine going there, but now that she was actually about to do it...

Haruna shook her head. She could count on one hand how many times she'd been there to see her parents, and the more she thought about that the worse she felt. It was selfish of her, really. This was for her mother... so she needed to do it.

Kidou walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, if you don't want to go in..."

"It's okay... I think I'm ready." she grabbed her brother's hand and together they entered the gates. Even though she had only been there a few times, she still remembered exactly where her parents were buried. It was towards the middle of the cemetery, right next to a big maple tree. But she let Kidou lead the way. If he didn't, Haruna might have turned back.

After a minute or two, they finally reached their parents' resting place. Under the tree, there was a bench. Kidou went to sit down as Haruna neared the tombstones, flowers in had.

"Um... h-hi Mom..." Haruna said. She ran her hand over the smooth granite, right over her mother's name. "Happy Mother's Day..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She knelt down and set the bouquet down on the ground. "I'm sorry I don't visit you... It's... just hard, you know?"

From the bench, Kidou watched his sister. She was kneeling there, talking. Kidou wanted to go over there, too, but it didn't feel right to go over yet. Haruna was talking with her mother... and you don't interrupt those conversations.

After a while, Haruna had finished talking and walked over to the bench. She sat next to Kidou and wiped her eyes. She had been crying, but this time she had a smile on her face.

"That felt really good... to you know, just talk with her... Even though she can't respond, it just feels nice. I bet she's listening from wherever she is."

Kidou nodded and put his arm around his sister. "I think she's happy." Haruna nodded, and out of nowhere she started sobbing. She covered her face with her hands and leaned against Kidou, and he pulled her into another hug. "Shh..." he said, trying to calm her down.

"I miss her," she said between sobs. "I hate this. I hate how she's not here. She's supposed to be here. They both are."

"I know, Haruna. I know." Kidou said, and he soon found that he was crying himself. He pushed his goggles to the top of his head and wiped his eyes. He tried so hard to be strong for his sister... but sometimes it was just too hard.

Haruna looked up at Kidou and smiled. She wiped a tear off his cheek. "You should take your goggles off more often. I like your eyes."

Kidou sniffed. "I... I can't. They're my trademark."

"I think the cape's enough," Haruna said. She laughed a little bit, and just hearing that made Kidou feel better. They two sat there, quiet, for a while, until Kidou remembered something.

"You know... I just thought of something." he said. Haruna raised an eyebrow.

"And what's that?" she asked.

Kidou scratched his head. "I was just thinking, and I thought I remembered something. I'll probably get it wrong, but... I think I remember way back when we were really little, before Mom and Dad... you know. We celebrated Mother's Day once."

"Really?" Haruna said. Her eyes were wide, and Kidou could tell she wanted to hear more. He nodded and continued on.

"Mhm. Dad woke us up early that morning, and we tried to make her breakfast in bed. I think we really wanted to make it all ourselves, so he let us..."

Haruna giggled. "This can't turn out well."

"And I don't think it did. I remember a really messy kitchen, and I think you were crying because you thought Mom wouldn't like what we made. But we took it to her and she said that she loved it... So we hopped into her bed and we all ate it together." Kidou finished his story, and Haruna was quiet.

"I did stuff like that with my mom. You know, my adoptive one. And every year I really wished that you did fun things with your new mom... until I found out you didn't have one." Haruna said.

Kidou shrugged. "It wasn't terrible. I mean, I didn't really know what it was like to have a mom around, so it didn't bug me much..."

"I think we should do this every year from now on," Haruna said. "Because you should be able to celebrate... and Mom would like it."

"I think we should too." Kidou said. "It's a promise, then."

They stayed in the cemetery for a long time after that. Once it was finally time to go, the two siblings walked out, hand in hand. And as she left, Haruna found it ridiculous that she hadn't wanted to go... because now she was finding it hard to leave.

She looked up at the sky and smiled. "I think it must be nice to be a mother." she said. "I can't wait until I'm a mom, and then this holiday will be about me, too."

Kidou shook his head. "Yes, you can wait. You're going to wait for a very, very, _very_ long time. Not until you're at least... forty."

Haruna laughed and hit her brother's arm. "Oh Yuuto. Don't worry. It's not going to happen any time soon."

"It had better not." he said. But he smiled and ruffled Haruna's hair. "Let's just be happy for right now. For our mother."

Haruna nodded in agreement. "Yes. For our mother."

-.-.-

_**AN:**_

_**This is sort of a special chapter, because like most places, today's Mother's Day in the States. I know I'm very grateful for my mother and all she's done for me. **_

_**Sorry it's kind of sad... I really wanted to do something for today, and it was a tie between Kidou and Haruna, Toramaru, and Gouenji and Yuka. I hope you all enjoyed it!**_

_**Icee Suicune **_


	11. Gouenji x Fuyuka

"_And now for our last announcement. Coach has decided that tomorrow will be an off day, so there will be no practice, and you're free to do whatever you like." _

That had been the important announcement from the night before. Everyone was happy about some relaxation. Even though training was important for Inazuma Japan, a little bit of rest and fun did everyone some good.

Most of the members had made their plans for their day off immediately after supper. Gouenji, however, was in no rush to jump into an activity. If it were up to him, he'd be happy just walking around and shopping for a souvenir for Yuuka. Maybe check out a restaurant, or have a nice conversation with Kidou.

However, none of this was the case. The following morning, Endou had given Gouenji a somewhat rude awakening and had decided the day's plans for him.

"Gouenji! Wake up, hurry!" Endou shook Gouenji to wake him, and the striker frowned and tried to push him away.

"What is it?" he mumbled. "I'm trying to relax today. I thought that was the point of the day off."

"Well, you can relax at the beach!" Endou smiled. "A few of us are going down there, and we want you to come! You do have a swimming suit, right? Because I think you're going to need one!"

"Endou, I don't want to go swimming. I had already made up my mind for today-"

"Please?" Endou sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms. "It would really mean a lot to us if you'd join in! You don't even have to swim if you don't want to. Just sit on the beach and watch!"

"What fun is watching?" Gouenji saw the look on Endou's face. He looked so excited about going to the beach. It was like he had his heart set on him being there. He sighed. "Alright. Fine, I'll go."

"Yes!" Endou slapped Gouenji on the back and jumped to his feet. "We'll meet you at the front door in an hour, then! Plenty of time for you to get ready!"

"I'm not swimming."

"Still, find something for the beach. It's gonna be a hot day!" Endou laughed and bounded out of the room.

Gouenji shook his head and kicked the sheets of the bed. That Endou...

He would be the end of him one day.

-.-.-

In one hour's time, Gouenji had dressed and met up with the others by the front door. He did a quick head count: Endou, Aki, Fuyuka, Tachimukai, Tsunami, Kidou...

"Alright!" Endou said. Clad in his swimsuit and sandals, he had a towel draped over his shoulders and a soccer ball in hand. "Are we all here?"

"I couldn't find Otonashi or Sakuma," Fuyuka reported. "I'm not really sure where they could be..."

"The must have run off on their own," Aki laughed. Kidou seemed less amused.

"Maybe I should go look for her," he insisted, but Endou would have none of that.

"No, I'm sure she'll be fine!" Endou assured him. "You don't need to worry yourself looking for her. Coming to the beach will do you good!"

Gouenji shook his head. Knowing Kidou, 'relaxing' on the beach without knowing where his sister was would probably do more harm than good. But Kidou shook it off – or at least attempted to – and then the group was off. Tsunami, with his surfboard in tow, had ran ahead of the group with Tachimukai. Endou and Aki had drifted ahead too, and Kidou sort of fell behind and brought up the rear. It was just him and Fuyuka now.

"You're not swimming either?" Fuyuka asked him. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit either, just a light sundress and a beach bag.

"Oh, no. I didn't really want to come out to the beach in the first place." he told her.

"It's nice that you did come, though." Fuyuka smiled. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. We all will!"

Endou and Aki had stopped a small distance in front of them, just a few yards away from the shore. The two set up an umbrella and spread out their towels.

"Here's our base!" Endou called.

"Just leave your stuff under this," Aki motioned to the big umbrella and tossed her bag on the towel. She and Endou took off once again, and Fuyuka laughed.

"Those two are so silly." she said. She found a place under the umbrella for her things, and she spread out her own towel. "Did you bring one for yourself?"

Gouenji shook his head. "I don't. I never thought to bring one, actually."

"Don't worry. I have a spare, if you'd like to use it." Fuyuka offered him a towel of his own, and Gouenji accepted it.

"Uh, thank you." he set it down next to hers and sat down. "What all is in your bag, anyway?"

"Oh, this? Well, just some things you might need for the beach. Sunscreen, a change of clothes, a few jars..."

"Jars? That seems like a strange thing to bring to a beach. Do you plan on doing anything with salt water?"

Fuyuka laughed. "Of course not! That's a funny idea." she pulled out a couple of jars and set them in the sand. "I use the jars for collecting shells. If you fill it with sand as well, the shells are safe from breaking on the way home."

"That's resourceful." Gouenji picked up a jar and turned it in his hand. "Collecting shells... is that a hobby of yours?"

"You could say that," Fuyuka said. "They're so pretty. I like to gather them when I can, and today's a perfect day to do that!"

"So that's why you're not swimming." Gouenji noted. He lay down on his towel and put his arms behind his head. "Well, while you're doing that, I think I'll just try to nap. I have nothing else to do here, anyway."

Fuyuka picked up her jars and set one next to Gouenji. "Why don't you come and help me? That is, if you wouldn't mind joining."

Gouenji opened his eyes and hoisted himself into a sitting position. He picked up the jar and shrugged. "Alright. It sounds better than sleeping in the sand."

Fuyuka giggled and held her hand out for him. "Come on. Hopefully we'll find something really pretty here!"

-.-.-

Gouenji and Fuyuka had walked the length of the beach already, and Fuyuka had only collected a few shells. The others were out playing in the water, sans Kidou, who was under the umbrella fretting over Haruna.

"The picking's not good today, I'm guessing." Gouenji said. His own jar was only full of sand, ready for the shells he might collect.

Fuyuka turned a few broken shells over on the ground, and she stood up and brushed off her knees. "Not here." she sighed. "I was really hoping to find something pretty today."

Gouenji noticed a hint of sadness in her tone. "Well... we still might be able to. There's a whole stretch over there we haven't explored yet."

"That's a good idea," Fuyuka nodded and peaked at Gouenji's jar. "Oh... you haven't collected any yet!"

"It's alright," Gouenji shrugged. "I don't need any."

"But it's so fun collecting them! The feeling you get when you find a pretty one is such a nice one." Fuyuka looked down into her own jar.

"I'd rather help you look for some. You seem to enjoy them more, anyway."

"That's kind of you." Fuyuka smiled. "Anyway, let's head down to that stretch!"

She grabbed Gouenji's arm with her free hand and gently tugged him along side her.

"So, Gouenji," Fuyuka asked. "How is your sister doing?"

"Oh, Yuuka." Gouenji thought back to his younger sister. She had recovered so well from her injuries, and she was as happy and healthy as ever. "She's doing wonderful. I'm so thankful that she's alright now."

"That's wonderful to hear. It's always hard to see a loved one in pain like that..." Fuyuka slowed her pace and looked off in the distance.

"Um, Fuyuka... are you alright?" Gouenji asked.

She shook her head and smiled at him. "Oh, yes. Everything is alright! Let's keep walking." Fuyuka grabbed Gouenji's hand this time, and they continued down the stretch of sand.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while," Gouenji noted. "The sand hasn't been disrupted."

"Maybe it was the tide. If that's the case, there's sure to be plenty of shells here!"

Gouenji knelt down and dug through the sand. "Let's get looking, then."

Their search for shells was almost as fruitless as their last location, and after an hour or so Fuyuka returned with a half empty jar and a downcast expression.

"Today just doesn't seem to be my day for shells," she said.

"Don't give up just yet." Gouenji waded out into the shallow water and splashed around.

Fuyuka giggled. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for things here. Who knows what's under these waves?" he tossed away some soggy piles of sand as his jar floated beside him.

"I'll search over there, too," Fuyuka gathered the hem of her dress in her hand and splashed out into the shallows.

"Hey, Fuyuka, come over here." Gouenji waved her over. "There's something stuck in here pretty deep. Why don't you help me?"

"Alright, one moment. What do you want me to do?"

"Just put your hand over mine and try to... pull on it like that." Gouenji struggled as he tugged on the item.

Fuyuka stood next to him and placed her hands on top of his. "How about we pull on the count of three?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright. One... two.. three!" The two pulled, but to no avail.

"Let's give it one more go. One... two... thre-Ah!"

Gouenji had pulled a little _too_ hard this time, and as he pulled the object free he fell backwards and into the water. Fuyuka followed and landed square on top of him.

"G-Gouenji! I'm s-sorry!" Fuyuka apologized. "Here, let me help you up."

As he took her hand, Gouenji laughed. He stood up and laughed some more. Soon, Fuyuka found herself laughing, and there they were. Two wet teenagers laughing in the ocean.

"That was... something else." Gouenji poked at Fuyuka's dress. "Your dress is a bit damp."

Fuyuka giggled and pointed at Gouenji's head. "Your hair is a bit limp."

"Where did that thing go, anyway? The thing that landed us here."

"Hm... let's see.. oh, right here!" Fuyuka rifled through the water and pulled up a lovely, ivory colored conch shell. It was almost the size of her fist, dripping water and reflecting the sunlight. "It's beautiful."

"Why don't you keep it, Fuyuka?" Gouenji offered. "You'd cherish it more than I would."

"Are you sure? You're the one who found it, after all."

"It's nothing. Keep it as a memento of sorts. For our beach day."

Fuyuka smiled and clutched the shell do her chest. "Yes... our beach day."

-.-.-

_**AN: **_

_**Did you guys miss this? No? I don't blame you xD**_

_**This was requested by **__**RyuusakiShin15**__** ages and ages ago. I hope you see it and enjoy ;o; !**_

_**R&R **_

_**Icee Suicune~**_


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